Nate’s Place

Speaking softly and carrying a small twig

Unless by some miracle of miracles, or some major damaging revelation in the next few weeks, Barack Obama secured the Presidency last night during the debates.

And it pains me to say that.

While I have been very critical of both parties in the past, and clearly I have made it clear that McCain was not my pick to represent me as a life long Republican, I was admittedly more energized with his pick of Sarah Palin.  Say what you will about her…I’ve read plenty of left wing criticism (most unfounded and just spiteful), Gov. Palin gave this ’ole redneck something to hope for in our future and thus probably would have made me vote for McCain.

But after watching last nights debate (I have watched them all, by the way), Obama more or less has this all wrapped up.  Not because he delivered a solid plan or has a complete understanding of global events (he doesn’t), or is America’s savior by any means.  He won because John McCain failed to impress.  So many pundits (and I agree) needed McCain to come out swinging.  He needed to deliver a punch…a sound byte that would resonate….that we would all be talking about.  He needed to go out on a limb and make an attack and convince us why he is indeed better (you don’t have to be nasty to Obama to do this), yet McCain remained reserved and spouted the same ‘ole, same ‘ole that us Republicans just don’t listen to anymore.

That’s the real problem with the Republican party right now.  At least with all my friends and family that I speak to and discuss issues with.  The Republicans are still mired in the same few buzzwords and sentences that only matter to a small niche within the party.  I’d like to think up and coming adults (like me) see through the ‘company line’ of bullshit both parties have used adnauseum and put media pandering aside and talk to ‘us’.  They keep saying they do….but in reality they don’t.

McCain’s failure to walk away from the last night and leave a lasting impression on the ‘average Joe’ on what exactly he will indeed do different and why it is indeed better cost him the election in my opinion.

I am so tired of the same old buzzwords: “Wallstreet vs. Mainstreet”.  Gag.  Turn on CNN, FOX, MSNBC, Meet the Press, etc., etc., and they ALL use this term twenty times or more in any single broadcast…and I guarantee you, most people do not make the conenction.  That buzz word has an adverse affect on the average Joe.  When I hear it now, today, as I’ve heard it everyday for the last few weeks…I hear the same rhetoric over and over again as if journalists all write their columns from the same jargon pool….as if we, the avergae American, is indeed to stupid to see through all this.

The fact of the matter is both parties have failed us miserably.  There are those that will blame the Bush administration of teh last eight years for the finanical debacle we’re in today.  Yes, while the Bush administration ’should’ take some blame, the Democratic Congress allowed this shit to happen under thier watch as well.  Barney Frank is to blame of Freddie Mac and Fanny Mae, as are all those Dem’s who fought Clinton on stricter oversight in the financial sector.  I can’t beleive I am saying this, but I give props to Bill Clinton for attempting to do something a decade ago…but his own Democratic underlings rejected his recommednations.

Obama also scored on Afghanistan and Iraq/Iran.  Not because he will be a better commander in chief and not because he has international experience.  As a Republican, I watched him point out time and time again we failed in Pakistand and Afghanistan and we took our eye of the prize in getting Osama Bin Laden……and I agree.  McCain had chance after chance to respond in a very strong way here….but did not.  His attempts to defend our decisions on leaving Afghanistan and Pakistan were watered down and did not resonate with us of a hawkish menatility of getting Bin Laden.

While I am indeed afraid…actually very afraid of an Obama adminstration and its policies over the next four years (I don’t buy the fact at all I am not going to be taxed more), healthcare debacles, Russian re-emergence, and a lot of socialistic softball policies here at home….I am almost glad he won.  I man enough to admit that we didn’t put on our ‘A’ game.  I’m not even sure we put up Plan B.  I think the Republican party has put up a very ‘average’ campaign as of late and very complacent of the status quo.  Hopefully those in the party, the party who abandoned ‘us’, will wake up after election day once Obama is in office and take a good hard look in the mirror and realize they are indeed out of touch and fucked this up big time.  Dare I say ‘we’ deserve to lose this time around…and hopefully will have learned our lesson and come back with a whole new outlook, strategy, and party in 4 more years.

Congratulations President Obama, you won the office because we Republicans just handed it to you on a silver platter on October 7th, 2008…..The night Senator McCain failed to show up.