Thomas Friedman was on to something when he told us that the world is flat in terms of the interconnectivity of the world’s economy. The United States has tremendous leverage on the world economy, and the current economic downturn is evidence of this. With the failure of the $700 billion recovery plan to pass the House, the economy around the world is immediately reflecting the decision. At one point following the failure of the bill to pass, the DOW fell nearly 685 points, which is the largest drop in its history and nearly halfway to the point that all trading would cease. Around the world, markets slumped as investors worried about the decision that the U.S. Congress would make.Wall Street does not deserve to be bailed out. Unfortunately, that comes at the expense of financial stability for the American people. For over 60 years, the economy has been riding on the prosperity and lessons learned from the Great Depression. In recent years, the practices on both Wall Street and in Washington have ignored these lessons. Government spending is at an all time high, putting the U.S. into enormous amounts of debt. This bailout would dramatically increase this debt simply because congressmen and women are afraid to raise taxes on an American public so opposed to the plan.The United States is now paying for its actions over the last decade, and it’s bringing down the rest of the flat world with it. We’re in for a rough road ahead. Welcome to the new depression.
Archive for September, 2008
Sarah Palin in the Hot Seat
What I find wholly remarkable about the whole Sarah Palin saga is that it seems like she’s getting more pity than she deserves. I show as evidence that since her selection, McCain/Palin have surged in nearly every poll over Obama/Biden. Barack Obama has been assailed from the beginning on accusations he’s a closet Muslim and that despite all the experience he’s had, he supposedly has zero. (As I showed in my previous post, Palin’s amount of experience doesn’t come close to equalling the amount that Obama has had.) Until a couple of weeks ago, Sarah Palin was unknown. I must even admit that I hadn’t heard of her before she was selected. My point is that the hazing she’s been getting from the media and blogs alike are the result of us as Americans trying to figure out who she is and what she’s all about. I would rather grill someone like this to the point they cry on stage rather than let them get an easy ticket in, especially considering she’s the VP for one of the oldest Presidential candidates in history.
Sarah Palin: A Woman’s Place in Politics
John McCain recently decided on Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin as his VP running mate. While I must decry his decision, purely out of the irony that he’s just selected someone with more inexperience then Obama, I do have to respect his decision. Palin is only the second female to be selected as a running mate for a major party candidate. The last one was Geraldine Ferraro in 1984, and she was Democratic. This marks a turning point then, for the Republican Party. With a party that has been typically dominated by white men, it would seem that a little estrogen might loosen them up a bit!
What I found deplorable though was the media out-lash against Palin as it came to the surface that her 17 year old daughter is 5 months pregnant. I didn’t know it was possible, but apparently if you want the mainstream media to stop its incessant reporting on anti-climactic hurricanes, bring out a family issue from a vice presidential running mate. (That’s not to say Gustav wasn’t a big hurricane, the coverage, like any, was overblown.)
Barack Obama put it perfectly when the press asked him about his opinions on the matter of Palin’s daughter being pregnant:
“Let me be as clear as possible. I think people’s families are off-limits, and people’s children are especially off-limits. This shouldn’t be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Gov. Palin’s performance as governor or her potential performance as a vice president…How a family deals with issues and teenage children, that shouldn’t be the topic of our politics, and I hope that anybody who is supporting me understands that’s off-limits.”
My only significant gripe with Palin is that she is terribly under-qualified for the job of Vice President, let alone President. The Republican Party has argued that she has more executive experience then Obama, but her cumulative amount of experience is troubling. For someone following in the footsteps of the most powerful vice president in history, her lack of experience is a double-edged sword: either putting more responsibility in her hands than most vice presidents have ever had with so little political experience or she could reduce the power of the vice presidency, again out of her lack of experience. As someone who’s avidly against the policies and politics of the Bush Administration, I would prefer the latter.
Here’s how her experience stacks up against Barack Obama’s:
Sarah Palin:
Mayor of the city of Wasilla, Alaska - 1996-2002
Governor of Alaska - 2006-2008
Barack Obama:
Illinois State Senator - 1997-2004
U.S. Senator - 2004-2008
Obama has held more state/national leadership positions than Palin with more cumulative years in those positions than her political experience, he has been overseas on several occasions as a U.S. Senator (she has not), and he has been successfully running a grassroots political movement since 2007, where she was the lucky pick of John McCain’s campaign and the say of McCain supporters had no significant role in the matter. To say that this woman is qualified for the job of Vice President of the United States is preposterous. In making this decision, John McCain has suspended the right to the Republican party of making any further acusations about Barack Obama being inexperienced politically at home and abroad, as well as him being “the world’s biggest celebrity.” According to a recent poll by Rasmussen Reports, Sarah Palin holds a favorable view among 58% of Americans. That’s compared to Obama and McCain, both of which are viewed favorably among 57% of the population. Considering that a week ago, 67% of Americans had never heard of her, this surge in popularity along with the belief by many that the media is treating her unfairly essentially elevates her to the status of a celebrity.
She’s the biggest celebrity in America, but is she ready to lead? I think not.
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Due to large numbers of spam comments appearing on my site in recent weeks, I’ve closed all comments. If you have an opinion on this matter, I do respect it and ask that you send them to my “Spam-alot” e-mail, wildwildmars@yahoo.com. I’ll keep my eyes open for them over the next few days and I’ll post them unedited. Hopefully I’ll have a filter in place soon. Thank you for understanding the situation - Sir Knightly
Update: 5 October - I’ve since reopened this post as well as others following it for comments.