Not only is there a lot going on in my life right now, what with papers due every minute, extra babysitting days for my nephew, and a reading list that keeps growing, but a lot has happened in our country. I’m finding myself spending the first 3 or 4 hours of every day catching up with what’s happening with the economy and what our government leaders are doing to solve the problems. I’ve even heard that student loans, with which I pay for my education, are at risk, but no one has said specifically how. That scares me. What’s even scarier is that people are comparing the economic crisis we’re facing now with the Great Depression. So, no longer is this a recession…it’s a depression? This is something I predicted in my post last week, but it’s terrifying to hear it repeated by people who actually know what they’re talking about.
I’ve also been closely watching the reactions of the two presidential candidates, John McCain and Barack Obama, to this crisis. Obama has seemed calm and steady, going public with his solutions and opinions, and calling for a bipartisan solution that will aim to protect taxpayers and homeowners, and not simply bailout rich Wall Street tycoons who are the ones who brought us to this point. McCain on the other hand has played a game of political chicken, declaring that he’s calling off his campaign and asking for Friday’s debate to be postponed. Why? I think he’s trying to take the political “high ground” here, but as there isn’t any, he’s just coming off as foolish. If he were president, he would never be able to shut down the government to focus on one crisis…you have to be able to multitask, for goodness sake! Plus, if he really wanted to focus on this problem, why did it take him like 4 days to read the 3 page bailout proposal by Secretary Paulson? Too busy campaigning when he said he wasn’t going to? His tactic hasn’t worked at all. Instead of showing himself as above politics, he instead now looks like he’s afraid to debate Obama tomorrow night. There’s barely more than a month until the election, and he wants to throw away an opportunity to show himself to the voters, who more than ever need to know where he stands? Like I said, foolish. He’s doing the work of the Obama campaign staff for them.
His actions certainly give no comfort as to how he would handle himself in office were he to be elected. And as for his vice-president? The person a potential heartbeat away with McCain being potentially the oldest person every elected? Too scary to contemplate.
Interesting, thoughtful posts.
Thanks, Pamela! Anyone who saw Sarah Palin’s vague, wandering responses during her interview with Katie Couric should be scared.