Pre-Election Musings

Tomorrow is the day when all the hype is done, when the ballots are cast and when the winner is known.

The advertisements have been extraordinary for their hyperbole. In case you don’t know what hyperbole means, it means extravagant exaggeration and that’s what we have. The Republican National Committee is the out-of-control spin-master, like claiming a budget resolution vote by many Democrats (and Republicans, too, but that is forgotten) was a vote for the highest tax increase ever. It doesn’t stop there. Obama is said by the RNC as not ready to lead; and yet he has been the spearhead for one of the best political campaigns ever. If the way he has conducted himself during the campaign is any indication of how he will behave as president, I am satisfied that he will be up to the demands of the office. A remark by Obama to “Joe, the Plumber” that spreading the wealth in the economy was a laudable goal has been twisted into accusations of being a socialist and, by some, a Marxist. The only thing that I fault Obama for is not first asking “Joe” whether the $250,000 revenue he claimed the plumbing business he would buy was gross or net. I suspect it was gross revenue, because a one or two person could generate that much but not enough to earn that kind of taxable income. Just do the math: 250 work days per year times $1,000 billed per day or about $100 per hour including wages, equipment, supplies, travel, etc. That question of gross or net would have exposed Joe as a man without a case for worrying about a tax rate on incomes over $250,000. Too bad the news media people weren’t smart enough to ask that question. I will admit that the McCain campaign made the most of it, but no spin will make up for the VP selection of the “You betcha” gal from Wasilla, AK. If that’s McCain’s idea of judgment, I hope he doesn’t exercise it as President. If McCain’s judgment and erratic behavior in crisis (suspending a campaign to rescue the nation from financial disaster and not contributing a tinker’s damn to the solution) is any indication of how he behave as President, may divine providence help this country in its time of need, because nothing else will save us from his miscues.

If you can’t figure out who I’m voting for, you better re-read the above. Join me at the polls and “Go Obama”.