Eve of the Election

The election has already been decided...we just don't know it. At this point, if you don't know who you're voting for, you've been hiding under a rock or have decided not to care over the past 2 years. Either way, we will go into next year not knowing what will happen. Most would say they want it to go back to the way it used to be. That can't happen. We expect Washington to be fiscally responsible, we need to be fiscally responsible!

This has been the longest election process in the history of the United States. If Obama wins, he can attest the win to 4 major factors (right or wrong)-

1. The Bush Administration
2. Money (raised and spent more than any presidential candidate in history)
3. The Financial Crisis
4. The Media

If McCain wins, he can attest the win to major factors(right or wrong)-

1. Experience
2. Foreign Policy
3. Choosing Sarah Palin as his running mate
4. Honesty and Integrity

The difference between the two is simple. Obama is at the right place at the right time and McCain is a steady Eddie. I would argue with anyone the 4 factors listed above for Obama are the reasons he would be President. In reality, none of them have to do with Barack Obama. I will give the guy credit, he has run a masterful campaign and has certainly out-campaigned John McCain. I'm surprised John McCain is still so close! Most Americans associate the financial collapse of this country to the Bush Administration and the Republican Party. Yet, the night before the election, most polls show John McCain within 5 points of Barack Obama. What's that saying? "If you have enough money, you can buy your way into Presidency." This is partly true. Barack Obama didn't register 150,000 new voters in Illinois because it was his home state and people just wanted to vote. His well funded army got out there and signed people up to vote. Having the media report 79% positive coverage for Obama compared to 29% positive coverage for McCain is certainly one sided. If you look at John McCain's 4 factors, they're all created by John McCain himself. I think John McCain would have this election easily won, if he would have run a better campaign. The major blows against McCain are the Bush Administration, the financial crisis, and his age. I think his age has been a plus and minus for him. He's amassed experience through years but some people think he won't last through the next 4 years. John McCain has been known as a straight shooter. With Obama, I would argue he's anything but a straight shooter. Give me an elected official that has voted "Present" 150 times (as opposed to yes or no on crucial legislation) and I'll tell you that person is not doing his or her job. As President, you can't vote "Present." Iran has nuclear weapons, what will you do President Obama? Vote "Present"? Sarah Palin has given the McCain campaign the jolt it needed. Conservatives have always questioned John McCain as a true conservative but his choice of Palin brought the conservative base back on board.

The media has successfully pushed the failure of the Bush Administration in favor of Obama. What if Obama was President in 2000? Would things have been different? Better? If you saw a country that funded terrorism, harbored terrorism, broke 13 international laws, known for a fact to have illegal missiles, and had weapons of mass destruction, what would you have done as President? If everything was presented to you as 100% accurate and you tried to work peaceful negotiations through the U.N., what would you have done as President? I don't believe going into Iraq was a failure of the Bush Administration. With the evidence presented, it would have been bad judgment not to go to war with Iraq. I believe after the initial invasion, the war was mismanaged. The surge, which has been amazingly successful, was opposed by Obama. Obama also said we should have a specific date of withdrawal, he's completely backed off of that.

The argument the war has sent us into recession is false. Defense spending is below its historical average as a percent of GDP. The argument that the Bush Administration is to blame for deregulation is false. This problem started 40 years ago and Washington (Democrats and Republicans) have contributed to worsening the problem. In my opinion, we would have been in this crisis earlier and much deeper if it weren't for the Bush tax cuts. The Bush tax cuts helped the economy over his first 7 years and since 9/11, but the proof was in the pudding...the perfect storm had been festering for 40 years.

Regardless of who wins tomorrow, we all need to wake up, stop hating each other, and come together. Starting Wednesday, I say we're all independents...we're all Americans.