The Maverick? More like the Gambler

When John McCain bet the house on Sarah Palin, it was a move of desperation. If she failed, he failed. But she hasn't yet failed. Sure the lipstick has worn off, but Palin has largely succeeded in energizing McCain's base. Fundamentalist Christians, or fundies as I like to call them, were ready to sit this one out until Palin came along. Now they are as energized as the most fervent Obama supporters because they believe that Sarah Palin is the first politician in a long time that would actually carry their agenda all the way. Republicans have talked about smaller government and overturning Roe for the past 30 years, and yet no one has actually done anything about it. Sarah Palin, in all her untested, unvetted glory, would be the first. This was a gamble that John McCain had to take, and so far, it is one that has paid off nicely.

Even if Palin fails in the debate on October 2nd, the religious fundies will still be excited about her. That is the great irony of the McCain/Palin ticket. Just as the greatest fear of independents and dems is the passing of John McCain while in the White House, that is secretly the greatest hope of the fundies. As long as McCain is actually in power, Sarah Palin will be a disappointment. But if she becomes president? Watch out Constitution!

Now on to the second installment of McCain the Gambler: Paraphrased as "Because I put country first, I am suspending my campaign to solve this economic crisis". But he went even further than that: "Furthermore, I want to suspend the debate Friday night because I am going to get my ass kicked....I mean, America needs us in this time of crisis so we should do what Bush does best and not tell the American people what we are up to....I mean Barack Obama is a terrorist by wanting to debate during the economic meltdown...I mean "Where am I" "What am I doing here"....

McCain the Gambler once again took his campaign by the horns and steered it clear away from the one place he did not want to go: Issues. After betting the house on Palin and winning lots of fundie votes, he has decided to double down and try to win all the blue collar rust belt votes by proving he is more concerned about the economy than Barack Obama.

These tactics scare the crap out of me, because yes, the American people are so good at falling for this kind of stunt. After 9-11 we fell for Bush's Iraq war "plan". In the 2004 election we fell for "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth". And in 2008 we are falling for "John McCain cares about average human beings".

Thank God that Barack Obama has the intelligence and the chutzpah to stand up against this fear mongering and firmly state that this crisis re-iterates the need for this presidential debate. The American people deserve to know what the candidates stand for and what their plans will be. Whoever wins in November will inherit this mess and the American people need to know what they will do with it. Barack had two choices. He could have went the route of so many Dems before him and agreed to suspend the debate because of fear of looking unpatriotic or unconcerned with the economy. But instead he once again proved why he is our nominee by standing up to John McCain's gamble and putting the ball back in his court. Assuming a bill has not been produced by Friday morning, we are going to see Barack Obama on stage in Oxford Mississippi while John McCain is in Washington going to bed early.

In today's world of technology, it is rather easy to stay abreast on multiple events such as a presidential debate and an economic crisis. In addition to the economic crisis and the debate, Obama plans to stay informed on the current energy crisis, the global warming crisis, the health care crisis, the Iraq war, the Afghanistan war, and now North Korea's nuclear showdown. Barack Obama has made it clear that he believes he can do more good for our country by speaking with the American people through the debate than he can by sitting in Washington for photo-ops.

Then again, John McCain has yet to discover the internet, so maybe I shouldn't be so hard on the guy. It must be very tiring to keep up on all these issues and then be ready to actually talk about them as well! I should know better than to attack a member of the Greatest Generation and a war veteran to boot.