God Bless America, and God Save Us

If you know me, you know that I'm heavily invested in this year's political campaigns. I've been interested in who is running and who is winning where ever since the debates for each party. I am increasingly frustrated with the nonsense I keep hearing from the McCain/Palin campaign. I make no effort to be nonpartisan in the oncoming rant, so don't think this is any sort of journalism.

I will be voting for Barack Obama and Joe Biden this November. Want to know why? Read on, my friends.

Let me start with this - John McCain and Sarah Palin lie through their teeth every single day. Even impartial reporting agencies continually debunk the statements made by both of these candidates on a daily basis. Political spin is one thing, dishonesty is another. Let's explore this thought...

Palin "said thanks, but no thanks to the Bridge to Nowhere." LIE. She pulled her support only after Congress pulled the funding for the specific Ketchikan project. They offered the funding to Alaska, and Palin continued to support building the bridge. Only after a public outcry did she pull the plug.

McCain and Palin have asserted that Palin never accepted earmarks. McCain was challenged on the talk show "The View" about such a matter, and when confronted with the assertion that Palin accepted earmarks, his response was, "Not as a governor, no she did not." WHAT? She has employed lobbyists for years, and has requested over $200 million in earmarks for the upcoming year. McCain focuses on how she vetoed $500 million in earmarks, which may indeed be true, but to say that, as governor, she never accepted an earmark, is categorically false.

John McCain has more flip-flops than a Florida beach in July. First he was for the decision of Roe v. Wade, now he is against it. This is documented on video in interviews with the media. He was against the Bush tax cuts, now he says he will maintain them...also on video. I could go on. What a gutless, spineless coward. If you claim to be a reformer, reform something, don't give in to the Republican machine!

That brings me to my next point. McCain and Palin are promising sweeping reforms for Washington, but they have yet to say what they will do. Barack Obama got nailed by the Republicans and the media for not being explicit with his plans, yet they have been spelled out on his website since he began his primary season campaign. He has now spoken about all the major issues in public forums, including how he plans to balance the federal budget, provide economic relief, and cut wasteful spending. McCain and Palin are full of hot air and catchy one-liners.

Pit bull, or bullshit?

McCain and Palin's response to all of this? We're going to reform Washington! How? By reforming it, because we're reformers who reform things that need to be reformed!

Seriously, who buys this tripe?

Sarah Palin's foreign policy experience? She can see Russia from Alaska. Oh yeah, and she looked at Iraq from the safety of a Kuwaiti military base. Barack Obama and Joe Biden have met with world leaders, addressed citizens of foreign countries, and consulted military leaders on the ground in Iraq. Sarah Palin? Yeah, she saw some desert somewhere...Isn't that the kind of crap that McCain hammered Obama on just a few months ago? Double standard much?

Oh wait, if we ask questions, we're sexist.

It's the same repugnant campaign that panders to those who lack information. Now I realize that not everyone has access to the Internet, to check out sites like politifact.com and factcheck.org, or to read political analysis by people who actually know what they're talking about when it comes to politics.

If the American populous again votes based on "who'd they'd rather have a beer with," I'm gonna need a lot of drinks to get through the next four years. At that point, I'll probably be looking for a real job.

I just have to pray that the economy is not in the gutter by that point, even moreso than it already is.

According to John McCain, the "fundamentals of the economy are sound." The Dow Jones disagreed, tanking 501 points today, the single largest fall since 9/11.

God save us all.