Now that the VP debate is over, McCain and Obama can stop worrying about their running mates at get ready for round two of a three round debate match. 

Obama increased his lead after their first meeting due to the debate itself and McCain’s now infamous “let’s postpone the debate” attempt. With McCain just recently pulling out of Michigan (effectively conceding the state) he will need to get in a few good jabs to gain ground. 

Here is what we can expect… 

McCain 

• McCain needs to come out swinging with what works. He will probably continue to try and hit Obama on foreign policy and wanting to end the Iraq war on a “timeline.” McCain has tried to position “timeline equals surrender” so I expect a few shots in that area. 

• He will try and stay away from the economy for the most part; especially about the bailout specifically. He had hoped postponing the campaign to solve the bailout would work in his favor – it did not. 

• McCain will go after Obama’s tax plans for big businesses. 

• He will try and focus on Obama’s liberal voting record as well as Obama’s record of party line voting. Be prepared for a few “Maverick” references at this point. 

• McCain will most likely take one shot at mentioning Palin (he did not mention her by name at all in the first debate). She held her own so he may go for some “it will be great to have fresh ideas in Washington” or something. Other than that, he will keep her, again, off the radar. 

• He will continue to hammer Obama’s level of experience and I would expect another “naïve” reference in their somewhere. 

• Look for McCain to look “less irritated” in this go around. He will look at Obama and be careful of not overreacting when Obama is speaking. 

 Obama 

• Obama, since he is leading, only needs to maintain. He will try and appear confident and decisive. The last debate should be his model. 

• Unlike McCain wanting to stay away from the bailout, Obama will want it on the table. 

• He will try and tie McCain to Bush as much as possible. 

• Obama will try and clarify the differences in Health Care between the two of them. Tough call because although they are different, it will be difficult to get the points across in such a short format. 

• Obama will be sure to mention that 95% of all people will have lower (or the same) taxes. *I expect this to be a clarification response to McCain’s saying Obama wants to raise taxes. 

• He will probably clarify his exit strategy from Iraq – ensuring people although he does want our troops out of Iraq; he wants to do it right (ie: not “surrender”). He will then want to direct efforts to Afghanistan.

Check here if you want to see the FACT CHECK from the first Debate…

***Be a Part of the Conversation and ADD A COMMENT***

I used to enjoy political conventions. Hearing all the speakers. Getting excited to hear about change in bad times or planning for our children’s future in good times. 

As I get older I realize it is the same talk over and over again. No real lasting change once they get into office. Plenty of acknowledging the present but no planning for the future. All of them will lower our taxes and increase our benefits (basic Third Grade math will tell you that is not possible).  

Don’t get me wrong, I still have hope. I still hope that one day someone will step up and say… 

“I know it is tough right now. America is not competitive in the world marketplace. People who came to this country for jobs and opportunity now stay in their own county as the jobs have been exported there.  We need those jobs and the people back. We must learn to build our country…no, rebuild our country to compete in the world marketplace. Not as enforcers of peace, but ambassadors of a free market society.

We must re-learn self-sufficiency. Not rely on other countries for our basic needs such as food and fuel. Free Trade? Of course.  But never rely on other countries for our basic needs and livelihood. Furthermore, free trade works both ways. And never at the expense of our people and our workers. We will not trade with countries that do not accept our goods or so heavily tax them thereby reducing the balance of trade. 

Lastly, we must make sure that this does not ever happen again. We must place a priority on education and our children’s future. Cutting educational programs is not saving money; it is costing us a thousand times more in the future. Our future inventors, political figures, and entrepreneurs all go through the school system that has grossly failed them in recent years. Education needs to be a right…not an option.” 

The next few years are going to be tough. I am not going to tell you I am going to lower taxes, because I am not. I am going to tell you that every American, every American, is going to feel the crunch over the next few years as we right this ship and set us back on a course that leads to self sufficiency and economic stability. We are all in this together and we all must correct it. The good news is when we are done we will be stronger than we have ever been – that is the country we will hand our kids.” 

Of course, this fictional person would never get voted in. Matter of fact, they would never make it to the convention.

Too bad. I would vote for them. 

***Be a Part of the Conversation and ADD A COMMENT***

Before I look up Hillary Clinton’s SAT scores (I am most interested in her Math scores) I have got to wonder what keeps her in the race. I say “race,” but it has long since been over between her and Obama.

So, why is she hanging around long after the (Democratic) party has left the ball?

1. Continue to spend a whole lot of money on the campaign (it will stimulate the economy!)

2. Set herself up for her new show, America’s Next Top Senator

3. Staying on the road because Chelsea has never gotten so much attention.

4. She hopes to get the job answering phones at the White House (I understand the 3:00am shift is her first choice).

5. Her bowling average is improving.

6. Her campaigning keeps Bill from having “free time.”

7. She is banking on the final state to pull her through- the great state of “denial.”

*Added – it occurred to me after I wrote this post. I wonder if she will be like the stapler guy in the Office (movie) and still be campaigning 10 months from now).

***Be a Part of the Conversation and ADD A COMMENT***

It seems that many people are concerned in this election over who will best represent them as President.

The sad part is elected officials stopped representing us decades ago and not just at the highest level of government but pretty much across the aboard. 

Take the Presidential election for starters. It appears that Hillary Clinton has close to 20 million of her own money in it. Now, the last time I checked, the average American doesn’t have anywhere near that. Certainly Hillary is not the exception. – Politicians need to be multi-millionaires to even think about running for office. 

If that were not enough, once there, they still won’t be any closer to understanding the average American’s plight. 

Politicians don’t have to worry about Social Security (they have their own plans that seem to be paying very well). A lot don’t have to worry about medical issues (their bills are 100 percent paid for life). 

The result is that we don’t (and won’t) have people in office that represent the people because they are not typical people. They will continue to represent oil companies, insurance companies, drug companies, etc, etc. 

***Be a Part of the Conversation and ADD A COMMENT***

Voter apathy amazes me. Although it seems to mostly apply to political issues since the last episode of American Idol had 63 million votes (granted some people probably voted more than once) and “Evolution of Dance” on YouTube has been viewed over 82 million times.

I think we just need shows like Presidential Idol. With only slight modifications to their song and dance, candidates could now attract young voters with their hip music videos. Better yet, throw them all in the Big Senator House – make them live together for 12 months and video tape everything. The candidate with the best ratings and viewer votes wins. 

Any significant bill or law could be decided by Survivor Law – Island of No Return. The legislations proponent would be put on an island with someone who opposes the law. There they can compete to see if the law passes or not. Only one person returns from the island, so I highly suspect term limits will take care of themselves.

In all seriousness (too late) some people feel they can’t make a change. Of course, how much of a change can you make when you don’t even try? Heck, why get up in the morning; you are just going to go back to bed. 

Just two rules so people feel they can have an affect in the voting process…

1. Why campaign on the west coast at all? Most of the Presidential races are decided long before they close the polls on the west coast. Just a good excuse to get off work early and say you are “going to vote” but stop off at the local pub instead to complain you have no say in anything.  (Rule One: don’t announce the winner until ALL polls have closed).

2. No one likes standing in line to vote. You think standing in line for a job is easier? What about standing in line for medical care? Hell, what about standing in line for Food?! (Rule Two: Until they come up with an easier way for us to vote…stand in line!). 

Just in case someone really high up in this country reads this and does create Presidential Idol; please don’t vote for anyone with funny hair. 

***Be a Part of the Conversation and ADD A COMMENT***