Jaded Sage:

60 Minutes tonight aired a piece about the market meltdown and its causes. Described as a “shadow market” the details of the crisis were revealed in detail and it told how millionaires were made on the backs of ill advised loans to scores of Americans who could not afford them and these loans were in turn bundled together and sold as commodities along with a deregulated form of insurance. When the borrowers reneged on their loans the house of cards came tumbling down. Much of this is well known but the intricacies highlighted in the program were enlightening. But what was not addressed in the episode was who we were actually bailing out. All those Wall Street and banking con artists who made a fortune on this corrupt business will not forfeit one dime of the wealth they have generated from the housing swindle. In essence we are taking over those bad loans from the wealthy who made a fortune on them.

Conservatives rail on the social welfare programs that reward the laziness of the poor with food stamps and the like but no hard working American would ever want to switch places with those who are destitute, no matter how much government assistance they received under the current system. Compare that to those who have reaped millions in the real estate scam that is ensuing. Is there one among you who would turn down 10 million dollars if you knew the government was going to come in behind you and bail out the mess? This is worse than communism. In essence, the bailout is the socializing of debt and the privatizing of profit.  Most Americans are seeing the disaster of fiscal policy playing out right before their eyes; $700 billion for the war in Iraq and a similar number for the bailout. Everyone is asking, for what end?

Joe Biden was criticized recently for stating that paying taxes was patriotic. He was referring to the wealthy who will be required, under Obama’s plan, to return to their tax rate they paid during Clinton’s administration. With the $700 billion bailout bill ($850 if you include all the pork) there was a tone to its passage that sounded a lot like Biden’s. It is the right thing to do for America we were told and all those wealthy people (and a lot of not so wealthy people who are heavily vested) heard the heavenly music upon its passage. But most Americans are not comfortable with the bill. Why didn’t the Democrats use their majority in Congress to simply pass the bill on their own? The reality is their constituents didn’t want them to pass it. Those who face tight races in their districts or states, whether Republican or Democrat, would have this vote as the last visual reminder of their voting record in Congress and thus they voted no to save their political hide. To some who voted yes it may be the last vote they ever make. We are told, despite the price tag, there is no guarantee the bill will stem the tide of the damage that has been done but what I am sure of is those who made a fortune off of the backs of us Americans are neither moral nor patriotic. But the sad thing is the bill may curb the golden parachutes of future CEOs of these institutions but for most, these criminals have already landed safely thanks to you and me.

The first debate is over and did we really learn anything new from the two candidates? Not in what they said. Anyone who has been following the race has heard both sides to the story. But there is one component of the debate that left me unsettled. Throughout the debate Senator McCain refused to look at Barack Obama; not when the Arizona Senator spoke about Obama and not when Obama was addressing Senator McCain’s stance. Why is that a big deal? Senator McCain speaks about his ability to reach across the aisle and make compromises. He rails about the climate in Washington; the partisan nature of politics. But in his first opportunity to express himself to the nation he looked down, out across the audience and at Jim Lehrer but never at Barack Obama, the leader of the party that he hopes one day to unite with his own to change Washington. This aspect of the debate should tell you more than you need to know about the self-proclaimed maverick. Never in my life have I seen such poor manners.

What was the tenor of the debate for Barack Obama? He engaged Senator McCain. He looked McCain squarely at his face, which the Arizona Senator kept fixed on the horizon. In the course of the debate Obama frequently eluded to points which he shared with McCain. A fact that McCain’s camp quickly seized on for political gain by making an advertisement saying Senator Obama takes McCain’s policies. But don’t we want a President who will unashamedly highlight the opposition party’s strengths in negotiations and debates while at the same time sticking to their key principles? Isn’t that the climate that we want to change in Washington?

If Senator McCain can’t make eye contact during a personal Presidential debate, what will be his stance with people in the Democratic party while he is President? For me, John McCain’s failure wasn’t so much in what he said, it was in his body language that spoke volumes. This should give everyone pause.

During the Republican Convention the delegates would not claim their leader. There was a piece on TV whereby those in attendance had pins galore but none of those pins were of George W Bush.  The party that gave us a second term of W and then fled from their choice a mere four years later is now trying to tell us this nation would be better off with McCain. To make matters worse, the GOP is now exhorting the notion that Palin somehow completes the ticket. To say a two year governor of a distant, barely populated state like Alaska is ready to take over the Vice Presidency is like saying a returned Peace Corps volunteer is prepared to run the State Department. If Palin was indeed prepared to take over the number two slot then why is she being protected from the media? Her party faithful (and John McCain, for that matter) are crying foul at the treatment she has received since being named as McCain’s running mate but there is no problem with it. Obama has taken the heat from those on the right and much of it was as harsh as what has come Palin’s way. Surely you remember the closet Muslim stuff and the accentuating of his middle name. Obama’s wife was fair game, too. She was depicted as an angry militant. It simply goes with the territory. It is not racist or sexist, it is the way this nation prepares those for the most powerful positions in the land. It appears the first rate education, the stint at community organizer (which the Republicans prefer to mock rather than credit), the term as state senator and then Congressman has paid off for Obama. He not only overcame the attacks against him but won the nomination of his party. It is time for Palin to face the music. Only then will we know if John McCain made  the right choice.

Perhaps lost in the vast number of speakers Monday night at the Democratic National Convention was the performance of Republican Jim Leach. Being from the opposing party his speech was in sharp contrast to the speech given by Democrat Zell Miller at the Republican Convention four years ago. With the calmness and delivery of a professor, Leach explained why he was supporting Barack Obama. Leach was the only Republican congressman who wisely voted against the Iraq War. Though not delivered with the same emotion as either Ted Kennedy or Michelle Obama, Leach’s speech contained the most pragmatism. In case you missed it here is the video:

Back in the 19th century, during the heyday of what is known as the Age of Imperialism, the French were masters of a colonial policy known as divide and conquer. In possessions such as Lebanon, Cochin China (SE Asia), and Algeria the French would purposely play off one faction against the other in order to keep the colony fractured, disorganized and dependent on French rule.

In the Presidential race the McCain campaign is attempting to apply the divide and conquer strategy to the Democrats. With ample Hillary voters angered over the primary process, McCain is trying to claim sympathy for Clinton voters in order to woo them over to his side. This is a good strategy, no doubt, but if Democratic voters of any stripe are swayed by this tactic they must realize they are being manipulated by the same people that brought you George Bush who in turn persuaded most of America to support the invasion of Iraq. If I was a Hillary supporter, I  would feel manipulated by this tactic.

Hillary Clinton’s supporters should realize when the two debated there was a razor thin difference between the them. Sure there are personality differences. This will happen anytime two political rivals vie for the same position, especially if it is the most powerful position in the world. It is now time to stop squabbling and begin staring down John McCain, or the Democrats are going to stumble into another defeat.

The news that Bayh and Keane were out of the running as Barrack Obama’s running mates seemed to point in the direction of Joe Biden. As Friday turned into Saturday the news has begun to confirm that fact. Joe Biden would have been the best choice of candidates from either party to be President, so the notion of him being number two makes sense. His expertise in foreign relations compliments Obama’s weakness nicely and no one McCain chooses to be his vice president will be able to out debate (and certainly not out talk) Joe Biden. Though certainly slated to be a potential Secretary of Defense because of his knowledge of world affairs before being chose as VP, Biden will bring a sharp edge to the ticket that many in the Democratic establishment felt was missing in the campaign. Biden does not mince words. Some say he talks too much, which provides his opponents with ammunition. The Democratic party has been seen as too soft in recent elections and Biden’s tough East Coast temperament should give Obama the attack dog his campaign requires. 

One big question is can two Senators win at a time when the legislative branch has record negative ratings? Even McCain has tried to distance himself from the very government body that forged him. You have heard it, “John McCain, the real Maverick.”

Barrack Obama has chosen to forego Evan Bayh of Indiana. Bayh would have been a poor choice simply because he oozes mellowness and it would have landed like a pillow on announcement day. Virginia Governor Tim Keane (who grew up in Overland Park, Kansas) was too much of an unknown. The geography made sense. Obama is attempting to steal Virginia away from the Republicans. Joseph Biden, who commutes to DC everyday from Delaware, doesn’t bring a toss up state into the mix. Biden does, however, bring a feisty presence to the Obama campaign at just the right time.

There is no more diverse state politically than Oregon. Portland is as liberal as any city in the US including San Francisco but if you go east you find yourself next to Idaho and conservatism breathes in these locales. But this election is unique and the winds of change favor Barack Obama. One GOP senator seems to understand the nature of this election and he has hitched his wagon to the Illinois Senator in a new ad.

It is unheard of for a candidate from one party to identify with the nominee from the other party but Oregon Senator Gordon Smith has done just that. His ad shows Senator Obama’s website and also refers to Oregon’s Democratic Governor Ted Kulongoski. The advertisement is intended to show Smith’s ability to be bipartisan but the message is much more than that. The waves sweeping on Oregon’s shores these days are much bluer than in the past and Senator Smith wishes not to drown in the high tide. The impact of this ad may very well work for Senator Smith but he won’t win any friends in his party for running it. But if he indeed wins and the scales tip favorably toward the Democrats in Congress, Senator Smith will be able to put his bipartisan experience to work.

There is another element to this tactic by Senator Smith. There is not a feeling of disdain about either Barack Obama or John McCain. This climate has allowed for the Oregon GOP senator to air his ad. The vitriol that has served as the sword of Damocles the past several decades has been tamped down in this election.  Thankfully, mouthpieces such as Michelle Malkin, Ann Coulter and Michael Moore have been marginalized and with the nature and depth of the problems that the new President must face this can only be a good sign for our country.

An Obamacan is a Republican who supports Barack Obama

The best quote of the night came from the brand spanking new Democratic nominee:

John McCain has spent a lot of time talking about trips to Iraq in the last few weeks, but maybe if he spent some time taking trips to the cities and towns that have been hardest hit by this economy—cities in Michigan, and Ohio, and right here in Minnesota—he’d understand the kind of change that people are looking for.

I only wish he would have worked in a rural component to that line since he will need to fight for these voters. He has the urban vote.

The hot button in the Presidential race these days revolves around the new “GI Bill”. This bill gives us a window on the soul of those who are waging the so called “War on Terror”. By any measure Democratic Senator Jim Webb’s version of the bill (and co-sponsored by Republican Senator Chuck Hagel) is quite generous. It would allow any serviceman who completed three years of active duty (or activated reservists or national guard) the ability to be compensated for four years of public university tuition. Sen. and Republican nominee John McCain is against Webb’s bill. McCain, like Bush, believes the bill would cause military retention rates to decrease. Many of America’s finest have served three, four and five tours in Iraq and Afghanistan (and sometimes swapping between the two theaters) and those who rightfully engaged the enemy in Afghanistan and those who wrongly invaded Iraq are now denying those who have sacrificed the most the ability to brighten their future; a future that for as long as they were serving in harms way was always in doubt. A future for some involves a life without a leg or an arm. Shame on George Bush, shame on John McCain and shame on any politician who doesn’t stand up in Congress and give these boys (and girls) what they deserve. For McCain to use his lack of support of this bill as a means to attack Barack Obama (who supports this bill) for not serving in the military shows a lack of integrity; a word I would never have used to define McCain in the past. Jim Webb’s bill may have an opposite effect. The prospect of having a full paid college scholarship may very well cause a number of kids to sign up for the military. These would be men who aspire to be college graduates, just the type of people we would like to fill the ranks of the US military. Those who have put their lives on the line for this country are exactly those we want to replace the aging baby boomers in the workplaces throughout this country. Jim Webb’s GI Bill is a start but in my opinion they deserve way more than that. Unfortunately those who most wanted to wage these wars don’t see it that way.

Breaking:  Scott McClellan, former White House Press Secretary breaks ranks with President Bush in new book.

Earlier today our revered President spoke to the Israeli Knesset on the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state. In that speech Bush took the opportunity to slam the Democratic nominee on his policy of negotiating with adversaries. In front of many Jews who had lived through perhaps the most nefarious period in modern history the President of the United States chose to invoke appeasement and Hitler for political purposes. This act was flawed on many levels. First, the Dixie Chicks were lambasted for criticizing Bush on foreign soil. Their reputations were severely tarnished and death threats followed. President Bush not only did this on foreign soil but in front of the entire Israeli legislative branch. Secondly, Bush purposely didn’t give credit to the Senator with whom he quoted, isolationist Republican Congressmen William Edgar Borah from Idaho who said, “Lord, if only I could have talked to Hitler, all of this might have been avoided.” If Borah had been a Democrat I’m sure he would have been fully disclosed. Finally, talking to Iran, North Korea, Syria, et al is a policy proposed by Robert Gates, the Secretary of Defense.

So now we are left with the fallout. McCain has hitched his wagon to the opportunism offered by Bush’s speech. And the Right Wing has begun to try to triangulate Obama as the second coming of Neville Chamberlain. Fortunately, many Conservatives are not very savvy when it comes to history. In fact, many right wingers I have argued with over the years have a hard time getting past what they hear on their favorite sycophant’s radio program. What do I mean, you say? Chris Mathews today tried to carry an argument with one such right winger and talking points seemed to get in the way of the facts. Enjoy.