OBiden versus McPalin

With the Democrat convention completed and the Grand Old Partiers about to take the stage, it is time to take stock of our electoral choice this November. The phrase that comes to mind the quickest is “yecccchhhh!” Only in America could we tolerate the umpteenth campaign suggesting that one of these yutzes will be the guy to “change Washington.” Senator Obama who staked his entire primary campaign on “change” showed the other side of his mouth once again. He didn’t reinforce the notion of a new course; he selected a running mate who has been in Washington longer than John McCain.

McCain for his part was worried about his lack of economic credentials, and settled for a woman. Governor Palin is a maverick in her own right, and offers the only glimmer of hope for real change in the D.C. landscape. McCain selected based on his heart allegedly, but what About his brains? Until we find out who Sarah Palin is the question of whether her selection was a good choice will be an open question. Obama maybe too charismatic for his own good, but he is a fine looking gentleman. McCain had to “out-model” him so there was no other choice than to select a female as McCain seeks to capture disaffected Hillary Clinton voters. McCain’s choice will be seen as a cynical pandering to women, or hailed as the greatest and wisest of choices.

All in all both tickets are “balanced.” Each has a stogy old Washington fat-cat, insider on the team, and a youthful photogenic representative that will make people take notice. During the primary the main concern was that putting Obama up against McCain on the same stage might be like viewing toned muscle next to oatmeal. As it turns out it looks more like wrinkles vs. Diaperene. The result of these two Presidential candidate’s choices for running mates is that we will now get the same thing when their own partner stands on the same stage next to them. What confliction!

Had Obama been true to his wailing cry of change Tim Kane from Virginia would have been a better choice. More so, he double-crossed his best option by not choosing Hilary Clinton. Apparently this not-black-enough man (as they said at the campaigns start) seemed right out of the ghetto when he walked away from her for his sake, as opposed to taking the sure thing. That was the right choice, but he didn’t have the nads to go down that route.

McCain for all of his huffing about being a Maverick has once again shown it with action, not just bluster. It is a big shake-up, and a sign that change might be possible with McCain instead of just lip service. Remember he was the guy who would rather lose an election rather than giving up his principles. Sounds like Washington hot-air, but occasionally McCain will surprise you. .

Instead we have stealth politics as usual and a mirror image of Dick Clark’s eternal youth and Rip Van Winkle one each ticket. Either way we’ll be stuck with that combination after Election Day no matter who wins. McCain’s shrewd choice gives the Republican’s a small hand up regarding possibilities.

Balancing the Ticket

With the Presidential election looming this fall, the stakes are high for victory. Not since Rodney King was beaten on national television has a drama been so riveting. A “President Obama” will likely make wholesale changes of how the beurocratic red tape is spun. “President McCain” would be a wild-card, but likely to keep things closer to the status quo more so than the smooth talking Democrat. The two major parties seek a win at all cost. With that in mind, both need to consider balancing the tickets. Their Vice Presidential choices are the way to accomplish the proper equilibrium. Obama needs an experienced stalwart with impressive foreign policy credentials, and McCain requires one appealing to youth, women, blacks and the economy.

Obama will have to reach for some version of a crotchety old man, likely in the form of an elder statesman such as Senator Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, or Sam Nunn. We’ve heard from some mention the large-eared Chicago Senator resembles Opie from The 1960’s Andy Griffith Show. Since President Opie is modeling his public personification motif on John Kennedy who could be a better choice as a running mate for such a cutting silhouette than Andy Griffith? He has age, grey hair and the home spun wisdom that will allow those bitter rural religious gun clinging citizens to vote for such a ticket. They could whistle the Andy Griffith Show theme song all the way to the White House!

McCain for his part needs to find someone that looks like Dan Quayle and makes as little sense as Obama. Oh yeah that is Quayle, but we’ve been down that rocky road before! Perhaps someone a less maligned who has less political baggage like ABC’s Doogie Howser (Neil Patrick Harris) would be a good selection. True Doogie looked like he was 12 when he was a doctor curing all sorts of maladies in the allotted 60 minute TV slot during the late 80’s and early 90’s. Today he still survives on TV, but as the typical sex crazed male Barney Stinson on the CBS sitcom “How I Met Your Mother.” Choosing the baby-faced MD would be a stroke of genius for capturing the youth vote or at least the "geek vote.”

If all else fails another way to balance both tickets comes to mind. Since the talk of having Obama select Senator Chuck Hagel (a Republican) and McCain perhaps choosing Senator Joe Lieberman (a Democrat) is currently the hot topic, it leads to the obvious solution. What each of these guys needs is someone like the other. A McCain-Obama ticket or an Obama-McCain ticket would be quite a balance on everything. It would also reflect the continuing deep divisions that the country feels in so many areas. On top of that we’d only have to suffer through one political convention! We’d get the crotchety old guy with a temper that east prunes and sort of looks like them, and we’d get the youthful fairy tale-like Camelot revisited character too What a balance! What better way to solve all of our problems? Maybe with such a ticket we could achieve Rodney King’s plea, and finally all just get along!

From Berlin to Paris

The loud cacophony of disenchantment offered by progressive leaners regarding the latest John McCain political ad is laughable. It seems to have struck a nerve. The shot of Obama being hailed in Germany before throngs of adoring fans is reminiscent of a Beatles concert rather than a political speech. It also sends a signal that celebrity carries a less serious weight. That gravitas is necessary for the office of the Presidency. Such spectacles are unbecoming for a head of state. Unfortunately for Obama, he has cultivated a following of zealots.

It is this very image that McCain has decided to hammer home. Obama is a superstar! The Illinois senator himself, swelled head and all, seems to believe it too. He has anointed himself as the savior to a generation. Such self aggrandizement has a tendency to backfire in the long run. Just look at what happened to Jesus Christ! In the short term Obama appears to be a breath of fresh air, but like other great orators of the last 100 years, Clinton, Reagan and Hitler, what lurks behind the mask is likely very different from the persuasive cultivated image of a man.

As far as being perturbed about spotlighting Obama with Brittany Spears and Paris Hilton, you should know that liberals are upset because they readily recognize the antics of these two intellectual lightweights. McCain’s ad paints Obama with the decision making power of Ms. Spears. Remember the limo shots of her sans underwear? Not a bright choice. It also connects his image with the wealthy elitist Hilton who is the Typhoid Mary of the celebrity sect. Any starlet she touches becomes infected with lightning speed career ending disaster. Her touch seems to lead to self destruction.

To psychologically join Obama with these particular celebrities is effective in trivializing his stature via an avenue that his campaign thought to be their great strength, his charm, good looks, and charisma. McCain’s ad likens him to the privileged class and valley-girlish naiveté. For his part Obama’s views, though a bit muddled, are beginning to poke through the façade. The country is learning about him, and what they see they don’t trust. The veil of his past record is slowly being lifted and unfortunately for him, the electorate is still much more mainstream than socialist.

Senator McCain has a record of working against his own party at times. Obama is a staunch Democrat. The population is seeking someone to stand–up for them even if it means giving the finger to their own political party. Both candidates have a history. McCain is a wild-card maverick, and Obama, a card carrying socialist of the highest order. Those are the facts no matter how many ways each side tries to deny them.

Since his Magical Mystery Tour in the Middle East, Obama’s poll numbers have tumbled by 10 points, and McCain’s stock has risen. Some think McCain’s campaign has been lackluster. In reality, he has been a victim of celebrity too. He is not a pop-idol. The American culture, especially in Hollywood, holds few in less value than the elderly. McCain looks like your grandfather! He’s too old to be a cultural icon, so many avoid paying attention to him.

Defining the opposition is very important and Obama has not bee able to stop McCain and his Merriam Webster-like stealth force. When they are standing side by side debating on the same stage it would stand to reason that Obama would look like the epitome of vigor and McCain the pride of the geriatric. The evidence suggests though that the majority prefers its Presidents to be gruff older types rather than timid genteel pop stars.

American’s do love their celebrities. The one thing that they love more than creating a star is destroying one. Obama’s orbit is on an ominous trajectory unless he can find a way to correct it before he becomes the Paris Hilton of the political set. There he might be relegated to the likes of John Kerry, and Michael Dukakis. In politics days are a lifetime, so he has plenty of time to extricate himself. However, that will call him to a position of humble humility rather than elite star entitlement. Otherwise he might become career challenged amidst the likes of Brittany and Paris.