Not So Random Musings

WHY IS HRC TOUTING EXPERIENCE?
It’s interesting noting that Hillary touts her “experience” and Obama’s lack thereof as reasons she is more prepared. In a speech on Monday excerpted in the Chicago Tribune: "We've seen the tragic result of having a president who had neither the experience nor wisdom to manage our foreign policy and safeguard our national security. We can't let that happen again. America has already taken that chance one time too many."
So how does that jibe with Bill Clinton in 1992? And why does this argument supposedly work against Bush? Clinton was wet behind the ears when it came to national governance. GWB had the advantage of a close family member having been in the White House 8 years earlier. So, who does Hillary’s resume most resemble of the two? Call me silly, but I fail to see Hillary’s argument in any positive light, and I’m betting most of America that has more than an 10th grade education does too.

SPEAKING OF WHICH
We have 3 Senators left in the race. No governors or big-city mayors; only McCain spent time as a congressional representative, serving two terms. None have run a business, though again McCain spent time as VP-Public Relations of an Anheuser-Busch distributorship (due to his current wife Cindy’s familial ownership). Both Obama and Clinton majored in Political Science. McCain attended the Naval Academy. There is a clear winner in the “experience” game, and it’s not Clinton.

TRULY LIBERAL?
Obama is now being touted as an extreme liberal. And I do see some policies that raise my eyebrows. (Raising the cap on FICA taxes, for instance, which could put a serious chill on small businesses.) But when compared to Clinton, the gap between them seems larger than the media is touting. Clinton has this idealistic and naïve zeal, a la Lyndon Johnson, towards a society where the government takes care of everything. Obama seems to recognize the reality of the issues. Hence, if you don’t want to pay in to the federal health care system, in Barack’s world you don’t have to (unless you have children). And don’t come crying when you’re sick and can’t afford to pay, either.

Obama asks for two years of service back to the country in exchange for college subsidies. Yes, he wants out of Iraq immediately (which I also question) but then wants to redouble efforts in Afghanistan and go after Al Qaeda. This isn’t your typical tax-and-spend Democrat peacenik. After 8 years of a Republican who never met a spending bill he couldn’t get behind, I’m not sure we’re going to be committing more federal funds.

AN ELECTION OF ISSUES
McCain offers sharp differences in what he proposes. The problem with Clinton is that she seems to be operating without an apparent logic behind them other than a push towards a much larger welfare state. Obama, on the other hand, seems to have more of an agenda than to have the government taking care of everything. So if it’s Obama-McCain this election might actually be a referendum on the direction we wish to go as Americans. Wouldn’t that be refreshing?