A Political Break

Todd and I have been very quiet about this year's election. We both decided to keep the blog relatively politics free, but this is one of the exceptions so if you despise this sorta thing, just skip it.

I have the Head Coach 09 answers from Josh and I'll post that on Friday.

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I could never be a politician. I don't have the temperament for it (I don't think McCain does either, FWIW). But the smearing and the lies and the political operatives would drive me to the point of public explosion. I'd drop inadvertent F Bombs in the debates. "You are a lying ******* douchebag!"

Plus there was that porn stint in the 90s when I needed money for college.

If you have followed this blog and the sports gamer blog you know that we're both Democrats -- even though I have voted for several elephants in local elections. I'm not one of those voters that walks into the booth and presses the button next to the candidate with a D just because it's there. People like that annoy the crap out of me. Voting party -- blindly -- makes no sense to me at all. Yet a lot of people do just that, as if every Dem and GOP candidate is competent. Yeah, right. I have met my share is political dumb asses. They reside in both parties.

But nationally I usually vote democrat. I started voting in 1990. I voted for Clinton twice, and Gore, and Kerry. Although the Kerry vote was very much an anti-Bush vote more than it was me loving the campaign Kerry ran -- which I thought sucked.

I also remember back in 2000 -- when Bush was smearing McCain all over South Carolina, I remember telling my wife, "I could vote for McCain. He seems reasonable and not tied to the base of the party."

I don't know what happened to that McCain but he's left the reservation. Well, I have an idea what happened to him. Losing will make you change your strategy and apparently everything you used to believe in. This whole 'maverick' persona looks ridiculous at this point. If it is possible to be both reckless and predictable -- McCain has managed to pull it off. I am of the opinion that selecting Palin as his VEEP was shockingly reckless. Was it the best choice for the country? Of course not. Defending that pick as a deliberate, well thought out choice for the benefit of the United States is impossible and completely partisan. Was it a purely political pick to get McCain elected?

Now, is this new politics? No. Kennedy did this with LBJ -- a those two didn't like each other and Kennedy picked him to shore up southern support. Gore picked Lieberman for Florida, ironically enough. Choosing a VEEP to shore up votes is what politicians do. But that is nothing compared to this.

The Republicans in 2004, I think, effectively portrayed Kerry as a wishy washy flip flopping politician. 2004 could have very well been a year I voted Republican nationally if it wasn't for the fact that Bush was the candidate. I'd rather get kicked in the nuts by an iron booted lumberjack than vote for Bush.

But McCain makes Kerry's flip flopping look amateurish. It strikes me as odd that no one is pointing this out. Not even John McCain agrees with John McCain on practically anything at this point. Pick a topic -and McCain has had multiple positions, depending on what day and what year it is. Campaign finance, torture, the war, tax cuts, student loans, domestic spying, health care, faith based initiatives, abortion -- who knows what this guy really thinks at this point? I honestly have no clue. Was McCain in 2000 the real McCain or is this new right wing ideologue the real McCain?

Does McCain even know?

This whole lipstick pig fiasco? Stop wasting my damn time! We're still at war and deciding on who will lead the US and we're debating pig lipstick? Are you kidding me? McCain has the balls to call that an attack on Palin when he himself has used that expression? That is what we need to waste time talking about right now? Really? Again, this goes back to how I could never be in politics. I'd publicly freak out and look like a madman and lose the all too crucial sane vote.

The latest McCain TV and Net ads are also dirty pool. Did you see the attack ad about how Obama supports sex education for Kindergarten children? It's stunning low ball politics. It's the McCain South Carolina black baby all over again. Here's the fact check response.

Has the Obama campaign fudged facts? Yeah, they have. Yes, McCain has voted with Bush over 90% of the time, but Biden checks in at around 77% himself. That's pretty high for someone that is supposed to hate everything the man stands for. 77% is a lot, no? Obama has offered a lot of ideas about what he wants to do (I haven't heard policy one from McCain other than oil drilling and Bush tax cuts) but there's the standard question of "how do you plan to do that?" I'd like to hear more about the specifics. It's typical politics of everything sounding great on paper and in a speech.

Finally, it looks like this election will go down to the wire. I think my home state of Ohio is destined to go McCain for reasons that I cannot explain; Ohio has been devastated by Bush's policies. Raked over the coals. And yet McCain leads Ohio by 5 points. And we just voted in a Democratic Gov. with a 55% approval rating (as of June/July) But I don't think it'll matter. There is a 500 pound gorilla in the room in this state.

I think the key state this year is Nevada.

Check out 270 to win. I think, and this is obviously meaningless guessing but I think McCain takes NC, VA, FL, OH, NM and MO. Obama gets PA, MI, MN, NH, CO, -- and Nevada will decide the winner.

Honestly, if the Democrats can't win this year, they should break up the party and start with something new. If you cannot beat the Republicans with Bush languishing in office and with a 72 year old angry flip flopper leading the ticket with a pork devouring book banning hockey mom who has as much business running this country as I do as the 2nd in line -- then the Democrats will never win another national election.

And they wouldn't deserve to.