McCain pollster reckons it's not over!

I've just heard on Newsnight a Republican pollster saying to Jeremy Paxman that if McCain lost the popular vote (by two percentage points he reckons) but takes the Electoral College, then McCain would be happy to be president. Paxman thought this a bit rich, but the pollster said "it's how the game is played".

Now, as I contemplate bed, does it all come down to being a game? The worst case scenario for American politics is precisely this conundrum. A president esconced in the White House with the help of the Electoral College in defiance of the popular mandate. The crafty Founding Fathers, themselves not given much to democracy, were keen to promote freedom at the expense of democracy. Ever since, it seems to me that American history is about Democracy trying to find equality with Freedom. I find it very peculiar that in the modern United States there have to be Zimbabwean type lines in order to cast a ballot. Surely the powers-that-be can rustle up a few more polling places? Freedom to vote but a struggle for democracy!

My hope that Obama wins is that for Americans they will get a new broom to sweep aside the corporate abuses, the manifestation of government corruption, and the denial of easy ballot access. Freedom for the average person to count in the process.

I hope it is a clean win, but apparently there are bevvies of lawyers waiting to pounce should a hanging chad be found. An Obama win should be some sort of guarantee that this will be cleaned up. After all, as the BBC is saying, we (meaning the British) don't have a vote, but it affects us anyway. And France and Germany and Canada and Mexico and..........................

Should the mutual back-scratching stop?

It seems to be that honour, integrity and a sense of decency are in short supply for those in public life. John McCain has got caught up with a character called Charles Keating. I don't think McCain has done anything particular wrong except to be around a man who "spread a lot of money around Washington, and it was time to call in his chits". This is what I read on azcentral.com in an article titled "McCain Profile: The Keating Five".

The United States has a format for matching public funds with that raised by contributions. No political party can exist past the one-man-band stage without funding. That's a given. However, it's the way the money is collected that matters.

This Keating appears to have been a bit of a ducker and diver in his time. His savings and loan business was going the same way as the proverbial handbasket, or in his case handcart. So he wanted favours. Apparently he said, "McCain's a wimp" when he heard that McCain was nervous of a meeting with him.

Do we really want the likes of Keating sniffing around the Congressional halls, without an ounce of moral fibre, seeking out senators and members of the House in order to "call in their chits"?

It's the legalised crooks like Keating who have brought us to this sorry pass. Ironically, this all happened in March 1987. That's over 21 years ago! Then we knew that there was recklessness in the accounting system. It's been mounting up ever since. Thankfully, the greedy banker was ultimately convicted of swindling investors, but only ELEVEN years later in 1998!

So, should the mutual back-scratching stop? I say YES, because this is not free enterprise. It is covert corporatism, with the average person catching the cold!

McCain's Michigan conundrum

I've been sent a link to this article about McCain's campaign decision in Michigan. It goes to publicise the ridiculous funding arrangements that Americans find themselves in. McCain has dropped out because he opted to accept public funds. That put a limit on his spending. Obama is without the public spending hurdle, so can spend what he likes.

The whole thing is nonsense and allows a complete manipulation of the ballot. Another insane thing is the ballot access issue. Smaller parties have to sign up huge numbers of people just to say they want a particular party on the ballot. None of this helps democracy. It just helps the ruling elite. One thing both McCain and Obama should agree to is getting rid of anti-democratic trickery.

Interestingly, the article in The Hill alludes to McCain having dificulties in Michigan over unemployment. Local Republican congressman Thad McCotter said McCain was hurt in Michigan by how its economy has fared under the Bush administration. Telling indeed. But just having to drop out from active campaigning, for whatever reason, shows how hard it will be for McCain to make it in November.

What's the point of voting McCain?

Even before the election has happened, John McCain has allowed his staff to fold their tents in many states. In Michigan, they've pulled up the stakes, at least, and are no longer campaigning there, barely a month before the US presidential election. Surrender in some states is "inevitable" says his political director, Mike DuHaime. Have you ever heard of such a thing before?

What's the point of further debates with Obama? "I heard you threw in the towel, John!". How will McCain respond to such a comment?

Not only that, but John McCain has come out with some muddled thinking over this bail-out plan. He votes for it in the Senate, but says he wants to rein in Wall Street. He voted to give tax breaks for the top 1-2% wealthiest people running around after these toxic loans. That probably included Henry Paulson when he was chief bottlewasher at Goldman Sachs.

The Republican Party has got itself into a sorry state. If only they had believed in Free Enterprise and not Corporate Greed. With free enterprise everyone should be in a win-win situation. With corporate greed only one side wins.

I reckon that every American is in this to the tune of $10,000 each. That includes penniless beggars. They of course won't or can't pay. You can bet your bottom dollar the fatcats won't being paying either. It's just like Kevin's dad in the Wonder Years used to tell his kids, "It's the average guy that ends up paying the bills!".

Letterman lets McCain know a thing or two!

John McCain can't be thinking straight. He lets David Letterman down by cancelling at the last minute (or at least within the last hour!), but sidles up to Katie Couric, a chirpy "news" gatherer, and gives her his latest economic tips.

Dave's somewhat cheesed off! Watch this gem.

Obama outspends McCain!

What was I saying about the Palin effect? Just as I'm doing my morning swoop of the news, I come across the campaign contribution figures for August. They show Obama got a financial boost after Palin joined the Republican ticket. Barack Obama received a minor fundraising bump after he named Joe Biden as his running mate but raked in huge sums after Republican rival John McCain picked Sarah Palin to be his vice presidential nominee. Does that tell you something? There is talk that McCain may be having second thoughts.

If the vice-president slot is anything to go by, then Joe Biden (who has a few cleaned up skeletons removed from his cupboard) is ahead of Sarah Palin (who has some skeletons, plus a witchhunter, yet to be sanitised and removed from her cupboard) in the media tit-for-tat stakes.

This report from the LA Times is interesting. I get the impression the Republicans are slightly rattled. They should have picked Ron Paul, but hey, that was then and now is now. On this sort of contribution ration, Obama will win if money talks!

Palin is 'failin'!

I'm hoping I'm not becoming obsessed with Sarah Palin, but everywhere you look concerning the US Presidential election, her name pops up. It's a bit like shooting ducks at the fairground.

I was looking around for a take on Obama and found an interesting article by Wayne Brown of the Nation News from Barbados. Wayne thinks Sarah Palin is 'failin' and he paints a fairly accurate picture.

When she was picked by McCain the whole world went "Sarah who?" and then they started reading up on her. Having done that, they've made an opinion. She has galvanised Democrats into standing firm and she will probably not attract the independents. But the big question is, as Wayne puts it, will she cause Republicans of a less conservative viewpoint to peel off?

He says, "It's a fair guess that even moderate Republicans will increasingly develop immunity to her charms as they get a better look at the 'replacement president' John McCain is offering them." Replacement President? Now that's the crucial issue in the whole campaign. Americans do have to ask the question "Do I want her as president?" Unlike previous contests this is a bit more of an obvious conundrum.

McCain's taxman v. Obama's taxman! Taxing times ahead?

John McCain's senior economic adviser is Doug Holtz-Eakin and Barack Obama's senior economic adviser is Austan Goolsbee. The BBC had the grand idea of putting them head to head.

Mr Goolsbee said, "Barack Obama's tax cuts for ordinary Americans are three times larger than John McCain's. The way that John McCain's package ends up being three to four trillion dollars more is that they give humungous tax cuts to high income people and large corporations." One in the eye for McCain.

Mr Holtz-Eakin told the BBC, "In this economy in the past six months with over 400,000 jobs lost we've seen the small businesses - those with less than 50 employees - add 283,000 jobs."

He underlined the importance of not damaging those small businesses. "Keep them in a position where they don't have onerous health care costs and mandates to provide expensive benefits to their employees." Which basically implies that Obama would stifle enterprise.

I think the only way to get out of this mess is for BOTH business and individuals to feel that they are succeeding. Just favouring one only will just cause more problems.

Listen here to the debate.

McCain and Obama able in Christian den!

It is typically American today that the two candidates from the main political parties have to go to some born-again Christian temple to open their hearts, minds and souls. In England it is usually the local vicar or some civic dignatory that puts on a "hustings" event. Not so in America, or at least not anymore. There you have some preacher, probably vetted to see if there are no skeletons in the cupboard, introducing the duo so they can empty their closets in public to show off their skeletons.

I would not put much store by these events. The devil in me thinks it is partly to boost the career of the preacher concerned. Coming from a part of Christendom where this kind of publicity-led preaching is unheard of (apart from Anglicans getting publicity from disagreements!), I find it slightly uneasy that prim and proper people should be delving into the personal lives of others in such a way. The troubling aspect for me about "born-again Christians" is that the "I'm Saved!" mantra dispels much of the Faith, Hope and Charity aspect of Christianity. They don't apparently have Hope, they have rock solid certainty that they have front row seats in Heaven. This, it seems, gives them the right to sit and judge others who do not have the "I'm Saved!" mentality.

I see Bob Barr is getting all het up about not being invited. I wouldn't worry Bob. You're better off out (to paraphrase a Eurosceptic message!). Apparently "the only people getting into the event are Obama, McCain and those who reportedly paid $500 to $2,000 to the church to sit in the audience." Filthy lucre, Bob. Stick to being a libertarian and forget the huffing and puffing!

McCain tries to trash Obama - Olympic style!

John McCain's people are all about negative advertising, it would appear. We are to suppose that the average American is sitting watching TV thinking "Gee, this Obama is a screwball! I won't vote for HIM!" I have this vision of young Kevin from the Wonder Years as his dad tries to watch the TV news so he can give his squabbling family his take on the world's problems. Kevin shrugs his shoulders as usual!

Surely all this is a waste of time. Americans are crying out for a new way forward. Obama is the only one available that will give positive action in this direction. This response from Tucker Bounds, a McCain spokesman, is disingenuous in the extreme. He says McCain is "focused on ensuring that voters have the best information possible to make an informed decision on Election Day." I doubt that very much.

However, if the US media was not so strapped down to the floor by advertising moguls and corporate lobbyists, then I would believe him. However, the real world suggests he is wrong.

I would normally be actively thinking right now that McCain was the best guy. He's a Republican, and all the rest. But he mixes too much with lobbyists for my liking. Come November, should McCain win, these trough-snouters will be in their best bib and tuckers all salivating at the thought of more riches. Which could mean more ruin for others.

If McCain changes tack and tells us what he would actually do I might be more impressed. But by merely negatively attacking the messenger of much wanted change, he shows a paucity of ideas.

Obama's tired of tired tire gauge jokes!

I well remember an American cousin of mine telling me in the 70's that a good way to save money on gas was to have your car tyres pumped up to the right pressure. So how come John McCain didn't know this. My cousin was US Army trained. Did McCain never get to check his army trucks over? Were all his Jeeps running OK?

The truth of all this is that the US economy has been taken through a hedge backwards by the cost of the Iraq war, the Wall Street money grubbers and the sub-prime prize shysters. They all got drunk! Barack Obama is only saying that "every little helps" to borrow a phrase.

John McCain should tell us what he would actually do as president, not scoff at his opponent. If this tit-for-tat stuff goes on until November, none of us will be any the wiser and most be be considerably poorer!

Obama to be tried and tested the McCain way?

There's a well-known firm in Britain called McCain. They make "oven chips" which are potatoes neatly chipped, then frozen so the customer can put them in the oven to get something ressembling a deep fried potato chip that is the mainstay of fish and chips. How good this process is and how fine the results are has been the stuff of food scientists. They have tried to replicate the fat fryers in the domestic ovens.

Senator Obama is being seen by the Republican Party as an untried and untested potato head. They are gearing up to put him through the slicers and the ovens of the presidential campaign by seeing how he reacts to their barbs and broadsides. What a carry on? If this is to be the level of the debate, then Heaven help us all! We are being subjected to talk about shoe selection (Imelda Marcos style?), about personal tastes, and music appreciation. Does McCain always buy $500 shoes? It is all too banaal. We need a proper debate about dealing with the credit crunch fraudsters, the Iraq debacle, the world energy problems and the emerging economies of China, India and Brazil. If the established "Western World" goes to hell in a hand cart, what will the importance of a presidential candidate's shoes be?

Both parties need to get away from juvenile schoolyard propaganda and address the real issues. If being tried and tested is showing you have 50 years of experience, then it hasn't been a very good example in most cases. Barack Obama will fail or succeed only by his abilities to deal with "events". And no president deals with this in isolation. He has a team around him.

Being president is not like being Cinderella. Your shoes are not a pivotal part of the plotlines!

How American are Americans?

I've met so many different types of Americans. All see themselves as Americans. Well, there's one I met on a boardwalk in Florida who was previously British in that she had assumed citizenship about ten years before I met her. She said "I am now an American, but I still think I'm a bit British. In fact, the local British Consul told me it wouldn't make any difference, because you can't stop being British". Actually, I think you can. You can stop being anything and start being something else. It happens all the time.

In a country that was formed by immigration, there is a grading. Some are more indigenous than others. A grand lady told me she was a Daughter of the Revolution. I was told these were women who could trace ancestry back to the founding fathers. The way she told it, there was a kind of purity about it. Others are only just becoming citizens today.

But not all Americans are as american as the most american Americans. Take Bob Hope. He was born Leslie Townes Hope in Eltham, South London. He went to the USA at the age of four and ended up as a presidential entertainer and nation's favourite. But he wasn't home grown. He became an American. Same with Jerry Springer, Cary Grant, and Ray Milland.

Some become Americans later in life, like Arnold Schwarzenegger. There's a whole variety. But the most american of all Americans are those who are aged 35 or older and are natural born citizens. A sort of Grade A Fancy! Only these can become the President of the United States of America. Maturity and native status combined.

So why all this stuff? Well, some legal eagle has again popped up with the idea that John McCain is not in the Grade A Fancy league. He's in the level just below! This is because his mother gave birth in the Panama Canal Zone. This fact is not enough to satisfy the constitutional requirement that the president must be a “natural-born citizen” according to an analysis by Prof. Gabriel J. Chin, a law professor at the University of Arizona.

McCain is not eligible, so he says. This is even though the law was amended in 1937 to take account of such occurrences. McCain was born in 1936.

It is a load of hokum of course. Not legally, but practically so. “No court will get close to it, and everyone else is on board, so there’s a constitutional consensus, the merits of arguments such as this one aside,” said Peter J. Spiro, an authority on the law of citizenship at Temple University.

McCain is safe. Nobody will test the law. But it still means that some Americans are not as american as all Americans should be or think they are. It's a version of primus inter pares, except the primus is far more that one, and on different levels!

John McCain's running mate?

Who do you think John McCain should pick as a suitable running mate in November? He's just got round to considering who might be the one.


If a choice is not listed in my poll, tell me who I left out!

Ron Paul keeps the Revolution on track!

Ron Paul held a news conference at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in support of his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination. "What kept me going ... I think it was the enthusiasm from my supporters. They just wouldn't let me go away," he told a small group of reporters. That's the point. Ron Paul has supporters across the USA determined not to let the message of change die. Come the presidential election in November, John McCain's support base will fizzle out the next day and go its separate ways. Ron Paul's support base will carry on.

By staying in the race, Ron Paul is making a statement. That the convention matters, and that his viewpoints and those of his campaign need to be heard. The other contenders all folded their tents, now trying to flog off the remnants in camping stores!

Richard McCloud, an unemployed labourer, is a good example of a Ron Paul supporter. McCloud drove two hours from Uniontown to Indiana University of Pennsylvania to see the Texas congressman and former physician. "If given a chance, he could be as great a president as Thomas Jefferson or George Washington. He does what he says and says what he does. This is a true American patriot, my man!" Now why would anybody want to impede the progress of a man who "does what he says and says what he does"? The sort of politician who has got us into an illegal war, keeps up the pretence that all is well in the financial markets, and who rubs shoulders with the lobbying classes, that's who!

Truth will out, it is said. But we also have to be on a constant vigil against the lies, the deceits, and the general spinning of political people, who do want they want, and not as they say!

Experts Deride McCain’s Mortgage Crisis Fix!

Just following on from my post below, I run into this piece from the New York Sun. John McCain, who is a self-confessed economics amateur, has been derided for his call for a meeting of the nation's top mortgage lenders as part of a solution to the rise in home foreclosures. He reckons 0% financing will help. Help whom, exactly? Certainly not the bankers, who would be more out of pocket than they are now. Certainly not the borrowers, who would have property at inflated prices.

No wonder the economists scoffed at this idea. Has the fat lady finished her song? I'd say it was about time there was a national debate between Ron Paul and John McCain on TV. Then McCain could tell the people of America how he plans to run the economy.

To hell in a handbasket might be one answer!