Faustian Bargain

It’s not as if I just crawled out of the rabbit hole, but seriously. . . I am beginning to believe that the world doesn’t really want the truth, or even something flimsily representing the truth. Everyone wants to feel better. Everyone wants to be corroborated and have their ignorance, I mean egos massaged. We have become lazy, and friendly with political subterfuge. All in the name of shiftless comfort.
John McCain was a good Presidential candidate in 2000. He truly was a maverick, and a man of the people. I probably would’ve voted for McCain in 2000 if he was the alternative to W or even John Kerry. Then this happened. “John McCain took the New Hampshire primary and was favored to win in South Carolina. Had he succeeded, he would likely have thwarted the presidential aspirations of George W. Bush and become the Republican nominee. But Bush strategist Karl Rove came to the rescue with a vicious smear tactic. Bush would deny any wrong doing in the attacks, but never denounced them as a tactic of his supporters. Rove invented a uniquely injurious fiction for his operatives to circulate via a phony poll. Voters were asked, ‘Would you be more or less likely to vote for John McCain...if you knew he had fathered an illegitimate black child?’ This was no random slur. McCain was at the time campaigning with his dark-skinned daughter, Bridget, adopted from Bangladesh.” (Anna Banks, The Nation) Bush never accepted fault, apologized, nor denounced these tactics. Additional “Whisper Campaigns” pushed by Rove and Charlie Condon (Condon now works for McCain) were that Cindy McCain was a drug addict and that McCain was psychologically unstable. These tactics have now been employed against Barack Obama and his relationships, positions, and record. These tactics that are the equivalent of noise, and red herring.
McCain’s political stance in 2000 is diametrically opposed to the man that presents himself today in 2008. He could actually run against himself. The maverick, the bane of the neo-conservative movement has been for alternative fuels, against off-shore drilling and still against drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), believed in man generated Climate Change, believed that the Bush tax cuts were immoral, against Guantanomo torture, and for immigration reform. By the way, he’s changed his mind on all of these. He is half the man that he used to be. It’s not just a talking point, he is no different than the man in the office. You line up their positions, and when juxtaposed they are in agreement. (Actually 90% agreement)
So we see a changed game since Sarah Palin, and it can be similar to a rabbit hole experience. The message is still the same, but now theirs someone prettier to deliver it. The very criticism of Obama and his lack of experience and celebrity-like draw is the very genesis of the Sarah Palin experiment. An inexperienced governor with puffed up credentials, who was selected not because of her achievement but her gender. Her experience pales in comparison to the usual suspects that have been on the republican stage over the past few months. No one wants to give Obama credit for running a successful campaign against the biggest brand name in democratic politics who actually won more democratic votes. They forget that he has been subject to endless scrutiny, character assassinations, and a grueling campaign. He’s not just joined the fight like Palin. Palin doesn’t deserve the credit that she’s getting as if she’s achieved what Hilary Clinton did in her 18 million votes. All she has is a speech.
Now McCain, who has sold his soul to neo-conservative politics of war profiteering and rogue nationalism laced with a religious agenda to bring in the republicans that won’t benefit from their tax code. His selfless sacrifice to his country, that many upon many of better men than me have also endured has been exploited by the darkest-Karl-Rove-segment of his party. The wool over our eyes is that McCain has failed to tell us what he will do differently than his Republican party brother George W. Bush. What he has focused on is to tell us that Obama is a “tax and spend liberal” and misrepresenting his policies. I just received a letter from some family members stating the differences between Barack and McCain. The content was ridiculous, and factually wrong. The problem is that this is the information that is being disseminated out to the electorate. The very kind of politics that defeated McCain in 2000. A “Whisper Campaign” in which the candidate quietly endorses that goes deep into the gutter to create a negative buzz. The internet has enabled this viral type of libel by reaching an infinite number of people through YouTube, and blogs. In 2000 smears such as McCain was for gays and secretly gay, that he had lost his mind due to his stay in the now infamous Hanoi Hilton, that he had a black child, and his wife was a drug addict. When these type of adds were first used against Obama McCain announced his indignation and said that he would run a respectable campaign on the issues. The problem is, the electorate obviously doesn’t want one. It’s not sexy enough for cable television. The tragedy of it all is that the boring issues are what’s killing us a death of 1000 cuts.
I leave you with this information about the change in the economy from 2001 to today. And some info on another commonly misrepresented
• Gas prices from $1.60- to over $4.00
• +200 billion budget surplus -to 350 billion dollar budget deficit
• 10-12 billion dollars a month in Iraq

And this about Obama’s Economic Plan:
• “Although Republican John McCain claims that Obama would raise taxes, the independent Tax Policy Center and other groups conclude that four out of five U.S. households would receive tax cuts under Obama's proposals.” (Douglass K Daniel, AP)
Obama’s stance on gay marriage:
• “Although Barack Obama has said that he supports civil unions, he is against gay marriage. In an interview with the Chicago Daily Tribune, Obama said, "I'm a Christian. And so, although I try not to have my religious beliefs dominate or determine my political views on this issue, I do believe that tradition, and my religious beliefs say that marriage is something sanctified between a man and a woman." (From Lesbianlife.com)
Obama’s stance on abortion:
• Clearly on the side of choice of the individual but voted “present” in the Chicago legislature because a vote of “yes” is required to pass legislation. He voted present instead of yes or no during a partial birth ban because it didn’t have a provision to protect the mother’s health as the first priority and defined the fetus as “life”. Albeit, controversial but not for partial birth abortion.

“If y'all don't shut up, I'm gonna go out of my mind.”. Doyle Hargraves