Thursday, September 25, 2008

Guns and Butter

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

There is an old joke, you know the one -

"How do you tell that xyz is lying?"
"His lips are moving."

Today, "xyz" could be John McCancel, or maybe Ben Bernacke, or Hank Paulson, or George Bush. It's hard to tell. They say that our economy is in danger of collapse, and maybe it is, but the thing that gives me pause is that their big concern is the credit markets. One economist I know explained that part of the problem is that if the government doesn't ensure confidence in the markets, the Chinese and the Koreans won't lend us more money. I don't pretend to understand that, but I know I'm suspicious.

What I DO know is that it's about a 2.5 hour flight from Washington D.C. to Oxford, MS, and that when you add in time for a debate, including time for John McShame to get made up, and everyone to shake hands, stop by the bathroom, and get that next cup of coffee, we're talking less than 12 hours.

I also know that if the fate of the economics of the free world depend on John McShame not being able to take 12 hours to honour a committment, and face not the Senate behind closed doors, but the American people, we are in worse trouble than anyone can imagine.

Is he saying, after not showing up for the last year that ONLY HE can solve a problem he doesn't understand?

Enough about me, what's Johnny gonna do?



And how is it going to play in Peoria? Here are some opinions, what is yours?

Comments (6)

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Karen Anne's avatar

Karen Anne · 859 weeks ago

What happens if he doesn't show up for the debate? Can the moderators and Obama talk about the issues? Or does the equal time law stop that? (Do we still have the equal time law? I can't remember.)
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uplandpoet's avatar

uplandpoet · 859 weeks ago

equal time? are you kidding? it has been gone for at least 25 yrs
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1 reply · active 858 weeks ago
That's actually not true. The equal time rule (47 USC 315) is still in place. Exceptions are made for debates and other news coverage.

You're thinking of the Fairness Doctrine, which did not mandate equal time; it just mandated that the opposing views be represented, in some fashion.
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We may see some of the Republicans who have opposed the reinstatement of Fairness Doctrine (say Rush Limbaugh) complaining about how unfair this is.

My concern is that a lot of voters (mostly Republicans) are ticked that the candidates haven't been doing their "jobs" in the Senate -- not understanding how most of it can be done on the road via staff -- and think they should be back in the Senate during an emergency.
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I'd like to see what happened in New York's 19th congressional district happen here, if he refuses to participate. There, incumbent Republican Sue Kelley skipped a League of Women Voters debate and was represented by an empty chair. John Hall pulled off a surprise victory.

SurveyUSA did a poll, and only 10% felt the debate needed to be cancelled. With all the revelations about what McCain was really doing - cancelling Letterman to be interviewed by Katie Couric, for example, I think that's going to go down a point or two.

As for the poll, this is a blatant political move, but in itself does not demonstrate that McCain is unfit to lead. Many great leaders have engaged in purely political maneuvers. What shows McCain is not going to be able to handle the job are his policies and his admitted lack of understanding about economic issues.
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