Thursday, October 16, 2008

Round Three

"From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs." ~ Karl Marx

"I think that when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody" ~ Barack Hussein Obama

Fox news has an over optimistic opinion of last nights Presidential debate. They think he won. I don't see it that way. I see it as a draw at best. And McCain needed much more than a mere tie.

Although he scored a couple of points with his line, "Sen. Obama, I am not President Bush. If you wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago", and one or two others, it was, in my opinion, too little, too late.

I also was left with the sinking feeling that McCain spent way too much time defending himself and not enough time going on the offensive.

For instance, at one point, McCain said, "And I regret some of the negative aspects of both campaigns. But the fact is that it has taken many turns which I think are unacceptable.

One of them happened just the other day, when a man I admire and respect -- I've written about him -- Congressman John Lewis, an American hero, made allegations that Sarah Palin and I were somehow associated with the worst chapter in American history, segregation, deaths of children in church bombings, George Wallace. That, to me, was so hurtful."

[Somehow, the image of a war hero who survived 7 years of brutal torture in a North Vietnamese prisoner of war camp standing their whining about a stupid remark by a rogue Congressman disquiets me to some extent.]

"And, Senator Obama, you didn't repudiate those remarks. Every time there's been an out-of-bounds remark made by a Republican, no matter where they are, I have repudiated them. I hope that Senator Obama will repudiate those remarks that were made by Congressman John Lewis, very unfair and totally inappropriate."

He actually appeared to be whining about Lewis's attack on him.

Instead of whining, he needed to address Obama's questionable associations with unsavory people and organizations such as ACORN and William Ayers. While he brought those associations up, he failed to elaborate sufficiently.

Frankly, McCain had the opportunity on several occasions to deliver a knock-out blow to Obama in last night's debate, but instead, every time he had Obama backed into the corner and against the ropes, he backed off and allowed Obama to recover.

His reluctance to stand and return blow for blow may very well have sunk his chances to win the election in November.

To say I am disappointed would be the understatement of the year.

Another thing which struck me as particularly significant:

Obama continually mentioned his plan for spending trillions of dollars with no mention of how he would go about providing the funds for such plans.

I think we all know how he plans to finance his many social programs, to wit:.

Here are some examples of Obama's pie-in-the-sky unrealistic ambitions:

"And 95 percent of working families, 95 percent of you out there, will get a tax cut."

Considering that one third of those Americans who make up that 95% don't pay taxes at all, any "tax cut" they will receive will amount to Government sponsored welfare. Where will the money to implement that plan come from? Well, Obama answers that question, too. I think:

"I mentioned health care earlier.

If we make investments now so that people have coverage, that we are preventing diseases, that will save on Medicare and Medicaid in the future.

If we invest in a serious energy policy, that will save in the amount of money we're borrowing from China to send to Saudi Arabia.

If we invest now in our young people and their ability to go to college, that will allow them to drive this economy into the 21st century."

We are going to invest in information technology to eliminate bureaucracy and make the system more efficient.

And that's why I've proposed a $4,000 tuition credit, every student, every year..."


$4,000.00? Every student? Every year? That, along with cutting taxes on 95% of Americans, which he really wouldn't do, would bankrupt America.

Notice the liberal use of the term, "invest". That means he wants to spend money.

Our money!

By the way, he also said he doesn't mind paying higher taxes, yet his record of charitable donations over the last several years would seem to indicate he does very much mind paying out his money.

"I do want to just point out that autism, for example, or other special needs will require some additional funding, if we're going to get serious in terms of research."

"[A]dditional funding". More spending. Still no mention of where he will get the money if 95% have their taxes reduced.

"I think that in ten years, we can reduce our dependence so that we no longer have to import oil from the Middle East or Venezuela. I think that's about a realistic time frame."

Where does he plan to get energy from? Up until last night's debate, Obama was against drilling for oil in any part of America, including offshore and ANWR. He was against nuclear energy. He was against coal.

Now all of a sudden he supports all those things? When was Obama lying? Then? Or now?

I repeat: Where does Obama plan to get the resources to reduce our dependence on foreign oil if he doesn't want us to produce our own?

He also re-used the same old oxymoronic line, "we can't drill our way out of the (oil) problem".

That's like saying "We can't eat our way out of starvation".

How absolutely stunningly stupid is that position!

Overall, I'd say McCain scored more points than Obama, but his points were weakened by his inability to follow up on his assertions and failure to hold Obama accountable to all of Obama's obvious lies and misleading statements. Whatever points McCain scored were lost in Obama's superior rhetorical skills.

Assuming Obama wins, which seems to be a slam dunk in light of last nights milquetoast performance by McCain, all I can say now, is this:

To my Conservative friends: I hope you are all ready for Socialism in America. Hide your cash, guns, and Bibles. Keep quiet and keep a low profile. Stay out of Obama's cross hairs.

To my Liberal "friends": Now you'll get a chance to see what your Liberal ideology hath wrought. In four years from now, you might very well become Conservatives out of desperation.

23 comments:

Joe said...

WOW!

That is a great analysis.

Poor McCain seems to have lost his "war heroism," in the sense that he refuses to drive the final nail deep into the coffin when the coffin is laid out before him.

I will never vote for BO, therefore I must vote for McCain, but I will do so while firmly holding my nose.

Gayle said...

I won't be holding my nose while voting for McCain, Mark, because I do believe that McCain is a man of personal integrity unlike Obama who has none. Even though I don't agree with him on every issue, I do know he will do what he believes is right for the country. Personal integrity counts for a lot!

I like your analysis and only disagree with one thing - I don't believe it was too little too late. I saw that McCain kept Obama on the defensive throughout the entire debate. As I said on my post, if Obama had McCain on the defensive, those blasted pundits would be blathering about how Obama won the debate and the contest was over and McCain is dead in the water. But because McCain won the debate, he just did so-so. I disagree with that.

But opinions are like... well... you-know-what, and everybody has one, so we really won't know anything until November 4th. I believe a lot more about Obama's ties to ACORN are going to come out in the interum. Hopefully!

I can't help it, Mark. I'm an optimist and I won't conclude we're dead until we are dead.

Regarding that video you saw at my place, not to worry. There are just as many white bigots who won't be voting for Obama as there are Black bigots who will. They are ignorant on both sides and probably will cancel out each other's votes. :)

Anonymous said...

Now you'll get a chance to see what your Liberal ideology hath wrought.

This of course presumes that the liberals ever reach the point of understanding the beauty of the Nation our founders created, and tossing out the socialism predominant in Europe. We can hope, but I won't place any bets on it.

Semper Fi

Most Rev. Gregori said...

Mark, I said it before and I will say it again. Either McCain doesn't really want to win or he has been threatened to hold back, because he certainly is not campaigning like someone who wants or intends to win.

I have the feeling that the fix is in for Obama to win and push us right into the one world government. I wish and hope I am wrong.

Anonymous said...

enough paranoia, my friends. McCain is a good, decent man who is simply unable to go after Obama to an extremely negative degree. He gets a little flustered when attacking, maybe because it's not truly in him to go after someone personally. He's more comfortable standing up for something he believes in rather than going after what he thinks others do not believe in. I may yet vote for McCain, but I may vote independent this year because my unease over Sarah Palin is growing.

I try to imagine her and her lack of experience and worldview (charges that can be applied to Obama as well, to be honest, but he could probably coast on intellect, and coast he would) being the face of this great country as we strive forward into the increasingly complex and dangerous 21st century. ANd the thought gives me great pause. Does it matter what her "one of us" image may be? I simply don't trust the country to be left in her hands.

Let's put it this way: Obama may very well win, but what can he realistically do that cannot be undone? How far left can all of these Democrats be when, looking to the future, they'll have to consider what flak any far left leanings would cause from their constituents? And while I have to laugh along with the "Hussein" zings regarding Obama, I'm not sure they hold much truth or do our side much good, since they come off as xenophobic needling.

The right needs repair, it's been fraying at the seams for some time now, driving away moderates and leading to us being what has been called a "circular firing squad", picking off each other inadvertently as we try to finish off the other side. It will never work in the long run.

We cannot overreact to a loss, we cannot overreact to a victory. if nothing else, I suppose we should take a lesson from the next likely president, whose debate performances have reminded me of Bush against Gore: the former talked calmly, the latter sighed and moaned and condescending and he lost. Remain steady, don't lose your cool, seduce the other side with kindness and compassion and understanding, even in the midst of disagreement. Then we'll be one nation, under God, stronger than ever.

Eric said...

Dude, I think we watched different debates. Obama was on the defensive all night long. Yeah, he's cool as a cucumber under pressure, but the very fact that his performance was filled to the brim with lies, while.... WHILE... nothing McCain said about him WAS a lie speak volumes about who actually won. The performance isn't what matters here. The question is, who had a better grasp of the issues and the facts thereunto? Lies are not winners in this format.

Every talking head I listened to, including those bums of Fox, talked up Obama and talked down McCain. Media is dead, even on Fox. And you, my friend, have been drinking Kool-Aid. Admit it, your tongue and lips are both stained blue.

McCain mopped the floor with Obama. I just don't understand why everyone is unconsciously channeling the opinions of Media. This nation is so freaking brainwashed.

Eric said...

Nonetheless, I also agree with Fr Gregory...

"I have the feeling that the fix is in for Obama to win and push us right into the one world government."

Whoever wins, it's in God's hands. And I have to be content with His wisdom guiding the affairs of men.

Feodor said...

If we take half of what we spend in Iraq every day, that's all we will need.

And let Iraq pay for their security.

Wow, Mark, you keep very paranoid company!

One world order, huh? Too much comics reading.

Feodor said...

You know, folks, I just found out how Senator McCain funds things during a budget freeze:

It seems that the finance chairman of the Florida Republican Party and a major fund-raiser for Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign is now under US House investigation for making tens of millions of dollars in profits over the last four years because his contracting company vastly overcharged for deliveries of fuel to American air bases in Iraq.

tugboatcapn said...

Has he ever bombed the Pentagon?

Trader Rick said...

wE ARE BUYING A BOX OF SHELLS EVERY WEEK TO STOCK UP. aLSO STOCKPILING KEROSENE AND CANNED GOODS. iT COULD BE A LONG FOUR YEARS.

Lone Ranger said...

People keep saying Obama is cool and collected. Actually, he's cold and calculating.

Mark said...

EL, yes, McCain scored more points, as I said, but Obama was ahead before the debate even started, so although McCain won the debate, because it wasn't a total blowout, Obama comes out the winner. Tie goes to the one who was perceived to be ahead in the first place.

Feodor said...

Hey, tugboat,

Cindy McCain inherited a beer distributorship business from her father who sought protection from the mafia when he set it up in Arizona and was subsequently successfully prosecuted for falsifying liquor licenses. The profits from this inherited business has funded Senator McCain through the years of the Keating 5, G. Gordon Liddy, and now an erratic campaign of slander and false umbrage.

Al-Ozarka said...

But Feodor,

Did he bomb the pentagon? Or try to kill a judge and his family?

Feodor said...

Of course not. When Senator McCain was eight years old, Alexander Graham Bell was bringing out the telephone.

Senator Obama didn't bomb anything, not even a campaign. He was too busy bringing on conservative oriented law students to the Harvard Law Review.

Too busy working for a depressed urban community suffering tough economic times.

No bombing, no beer distributorship to float him. Guts and brains and bipartisanship. Just what we need.

Eric said...

BIPARTISANSHIP!!! OBAMA? I don't know what you're smoking but I'm sure it's illegal.

Feodor said...

It started early. Obama fought to put conservative federalist oriented law students on the Harvard Law Review (since he was President he could do this) against the wishes of the liberal members (even not picking some of them to serve).

It goes on from there, but you are not interested.

Get ready, though, to see Republicans in the Cabinet. The smart ones, however, not the ones on your "favorites" list.

He's just going to so totally fool the American people with all that intelligence and bipartisanship and leadership it wont even be funny. Without your cooperation he will have us in a better place in no time, damn him.

Feodor said...

You want another example? And I know you do. Every time Mr. Obama sat at a table with the reformed Mr. Ayers, Republicans were there, too. Conservative ones. Annenberg, no less.

Man, think of that. No meeting in a small, dark room with four other Senators, shuffling in the door with one's head down to talk to a head of Savings and Loan about protecting personal assets and assess while loosing taxpayer's hard earned retirement savings.

Nope. At a table with a reformed bomber and Republican moneybags thinking about children's education.

Making do with who he had before him. Just what we need in these tough times.

Feodor said...

You know, now that I think about, I am no longer surprised when I read comments here about how Democrats think Obama is the second coming. Not that we do, but we do talk about his reforming angry gridlock, eliminating cheap slander, doing the most good with just enough responsible spending, cleaning out the mess and bringing all sides to the table.

When we talk that way, you guys hear the Messiah coming, I guess -- being constitutionally inclined to hear the Messiah coming to America.

It just hit me. You are the ones who make the connection.

Mark said...

Something needs to hit you. Might knock some common sense into you. You're an idiot. Go away.

Feodor said...

Can't even argue with an idiot? Weak sauce, Mark.

Feodor said...

Actually, Mark, I should thank you for leading me to these sights. It has made the time pass the last few days being house bound.

I most enjoyed the thread in response to ELAshley's "Republican Means Slavery."

A lot more thoughtful there even if long, long winded and obsessed with each other.