It's a tough choice

09/09/08 04:07 PM Filed in: Politics sucks

A change is needed in Washington ! There is no doubt about that, but can the new President really change things in a city that is for sale? Mr McCain wants to change Washington but if that is so why in the hell did he vote 95% of the time with GWB? Mr Obama talks about change but what the hell has he done in his time in Washington? Both men live in million dollar homes and I am not so sure that they know what it's like to worry about having a roof over your head. I am not sure that they understand that a lot of us are going to be working past retirement because we have no equity in our home.

First let me say that I respect Mr McCain for the service to our country as I do anyone who served in the military. However if one looks at the history of the Vietnam war you will find that at the time Mr McCain was shot down a lot of military targets were "off limits". The North Vietnamese knew this and placed SAM's in these areas and continue to shoot down American aircraft and kill American pilots. This is what happens when politicians try to run a war the wrong way..we learned it in Vietnam and in the Middle East.

When we go to war there can be no such thing as a "good war". During war innocent people get killed, especially when the enemy uses civilians for cover and to launch attacks. One of the reasons that we have not killed more high ranking terrorists is that the military has to follow a strict process before launching attacks that could take hours. In his new book Bob Woodward talks briefly about a new weapon that the military uses to target and kill terrorists. While it is still classified it may have allowed us to get to the terrorist leaders and do to them what they have done to others.

Now back to Mr McCain. I believe that at the slightest provocation Mr McCain would unleash the military. A military that is strained for resources and has done the job we have asked them to do even though it is not what they were trained for. A soldiers job is to take an objective; not act as policemen once they are there. We have no business in Iraq and every business in Afghanistan were the Taliban is reassuring. I have been in the military and been under fire and I can tell you that to be under constant threat of attack is as stressful as it gets. Mr McCain has a temper, that is well known and he needs someone around him who can calm him down with their experience on world events and leaders. Ms Palin is not that person.

I want our troops out of Iraq because we cannot afford to keep spending billions of dollars on a country whose people do not want us there while our own infrastructure is crumbling. Our roads, bridges, schools, and buildings all need investment to stay healthy. In Amsterdam the Dutch have constructed a canal and water system that could be used in New Orleans to prevent future flooding.

On the domestic side we need more resources allocated to new energy technology (ET). Drilling for oil off the US will not do anything to reduce our alliance on foreign oil. Car makers need to be given incentives to start marketing higher MPG autos and maybe it's time to start thinking about deploying hydrogen stations around the US and give people incentives for purchasing these cars.

Then there is Mr McCains age. Now while a lot of people say this is off limits I am not sure that I want a 72 year old person to take on the most stressful job in America? And if, God forbid, Mr McCain gets sick than do you really want Ms Palin's fingers on the switch??

What I would like to see, before the election, are the key cabinet choices that each candidate would appoint. It would tell a lot about his management and his direction as the cabinet is the one who tells the President he is full of shit or supports his decisions with facts. George Bush is a good man, I really believe that. His mistake as the worst President in history will be that he surrounded himself with the wrong people that gave him the wrong advice. I'll wait a little longer before I decide to cast my vote but I need to hear a lot more substance from both candidates.