#449 McCainery

#449 McCainery

Others are saying things about McCain and his presidential quest far better than I.

Some of them are some pretty heavily credentialed critics.

Alan Greenspan told Bloomberg's Al Hunt that McCain's tax cut proposals ought not be financed by public debt. Trillions. Greenspan doesn't like a tax cut?

Greenspan's predecessor at the Fed, Paul Volcker has endorsed Obama.

John W. Gibson of State College, PA, seized upon my passing reference that McCain isn't qualified to be president by suggesting that (a) I should support my statement and (b) supplied some good reasons, repeated thus:

"... I see four reasons ...: (1) he's too old; (2) he's a reactionary; (3) he's too phony; (4) he disqualified himself by choosing an unqualified person to be first in line of succession; and maybe (5) he was born outside the United States, which the Supreme Court may decide makes him ineligible (though it's a bit hard to see them overriding the will of the public that way if the winner is a conservative)."

Let's look at some of those reasons. Numbers 2 and 3 never have stopped us before. Reagan comes to mind. Number one: the actuaries have it down pretty well. A 72 year old guy with three bouts of skin cancer? Not a big chance he'll live until 78. That means (4)Palin gets to be President. Betty Boop, cheerleader. We've had a cheerleader for eight years. We don't need another.

Palin is so far removed from the reality of the way things work that she might as well be from another planet.

Over the weekend, some columnists took this ticket to task.

Leonard Pitts of the Miami Herald mentions that Conservatives used to have principles but have become, in effect, a band of political muggers (my term, not his.)

And Garrison Keillor, writing for the Tribune Syndicate, says the bums all scooted out the back door of the house, came around to the front door and started yelling "throw the bums out."

Then, there's the Panama thing. McCain was born in the Canal Zone. To the best of any one's knowledge (except the five guys who elected Bush in the first place,) Panama -- Canal Zone or otherwise -- is not in the United States.

Given a choice between the Austrian-born Arnold and the Panama-born Jack, I'd take Schwarzenegger. But there's an actual born-in-the-USA candidate. You can choose him. And if you have any sense, you will.



Shrapnel:

--What's wrong with this picture? Teenbopper Spears gets pregnant and says she'll have the baby and marry the father and every one's in a twist because her parents didn't raise her right and she's nothing but a slut. Teenbopper Palin gets pregnant and says she'll have the baby and marry the father and everyone salutes her parents for bringing her up right?

--What's wrong with this picture? Schwarzenegger was born in Austria, not the United States and is constitutionally barred from becoming President. McCain was born in Panama, not the United States and is not so-barred.

--What's wrong with this picture? The Bush administration wants government off your back and out of your wallet. And then it spends trillions on a war and billions bailing out its friends on Wall Street.

I'm Wes Richards. My opinions are my own, but you're welcome to them.(R)
(C)WJR 2008