Recap

Ok, not much new here. The same tired attack lines, Obama's unflappability.

A couple of points:

Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton and John Adams, believed in the federal government's supremacy over the states. They also believed in an elite, ruling class. Modern conservatives are only Federalists in that they believe in the elite ruling class. Of course, in my humble opinion, the Civil War was ultimately over federal supremacy. The underlying issue was slavery, but the ideological fight was over whether or not the federal government had the right to tell states to fall in line. The federal government won the war. To me, that should have ended the argument. I realize that this is a very simplistic analysis, but it cuts to the heart of the matter. Thematically, our country's history after 1865 can be seen through the prism of federal assertion of power. Labor Reform, Civil Rights, Voting Rights all fit thematically into government assertion of supremacy. States rights advocates scream bloody murder whenever the federal government wants them to do something, yet comes running to the teat of the federal coffers when they run out of money, and cry foul if restrictions are placed on those monies.

For all the crying about earmarks, one would think that the federal budget was weighed down by the immensity of bridges to nowhere. But it is those kinds of "sweeteners" that get more important policies enacted. It buys votes, which is necessary both for legislators, who can go back to their constituents and point to this money they got, and to the country as a whole.

As far as transparency in government goes, Fareed Zakaria made and excellent point in his book, The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad, that "sunshine laws" which supposedly offer more transparency to government actually undermine the democratic system. Since the average person doesn't spend their time sifting through the intricacies of the government, they don't get much benefit. However, lobbying groups do. I encourage everyone to read it.

In summation, if Obama hasn't wrapped up this election with his performace tonight, then Americans really have been damaged by four years of Bush far more than we thought.

The End (My Friend)

9:56- Health Care- I am curious to hear how McCain will twist Obama's policy here. Obama is very concise and clear.

9:58- McCain: Cost of health care rising. Health care records on line, obesity, employee rewards for being in shape. $5,000 tax credit. Back to Joe the plumber. He just seems out of touch with the realities of the system already in place.

10:02- Obama attacks McCain's policy in a easy going manner. There is no way (unless race rears its ugly head) Obama should lose this election.

10:03- McCain seems petty. And keeps bringing up Joe the plumber. I am beginning to resent Joe the plumber. He's gotten more mentions than Biden, Palin and Nancy Reagan combined.

Senator Government. I like the slip. Not as good as "that one", but good nonetheless.

10:06- Abortion. Uh, oh. If McCain is a Federalist, why does he want to give states all the power? Becaue he doesn't understand what a Federalist is. I will expand on this in my post game report.

10:09- Obama understands the role of the Federal government vs state governments, and wants women to decide. Shocking concept.

10:11- McCain wants the government to leave businesses alone, but wants to impose moral mandates on citizens. I don't understand this conservative position at all. It is totally incongruous. Will someone please explain it to me? Seriously.

10:15- McCain seems more agitated as we go. Not good. More and more like Stadler and Waldorf.

10:17- Education. Obama links education ot national security. Well done.

I like the $4,000 credit for service. Good idea.

Civil Rights issue= Education? Uh, ok. Gay Rights? Nah.

Blame the schools. Excellent. Reward good teachers, fire bad ones. Amazing. Where does he come up with these ideas? Oh, right- NCLB.

Can we talk about how not every person needs to go to college? Nevermind.

Feds in Schools- hot topic. Local control. Obama is correct in pointing out the unfunded mandates, in both NCLB and Special Ed.

McCain is really going to bring up the DC school system as his example? Really? Jeebus, he is clueless.

Does Joe the plumber have children with autism?

I think this talk about autism is code for this conservative movement to blame vaccinations, which is irresponsible. And wrong.

McCain closes with a snarky comment. Fitting.

10:27- Final Remarks. McCain- I just want to point out that service in the military does not automatically qualify someone for office, nor does lack of military service automatically disqualify someone for office. Yet, "putting country first" is the common call of conservatives who believe that military service is the be-all, end-all of service to the nation. The hardest part of my job is having to listen to that nonsense all the time. Oh, and McCain talked about the stock market as if it were the barometer of economic health. It's not. Another conservative myth.

Obama- Not easy, not quick. He took the straight talk to McCain. Blowout.

The Middle

9:34- Obama has so much more respect for the campaign as a whole than McCain does. Why are we going back to ACORN? Can we talk about Keating? No, beacuse Obama has too much class to bring it up, and is correct about the tenor of politics- making each other seem evil instead of attacking ideas. And he won't go to McCain's associattions (go to the New Yorker magazine and the article by Hendrik Hertzberg for details).

9:41- Running mates! This should be good...

Palin is a role model? She has a pregnant teen and opposes premarital sex, she abused the power of her office for a personal vendetta, and she has no clue about international politics. Ok, a role model for conservative idealogues.

Again, Obama has a respectful answer. Well done. McCain claims that it was obvious that we had to go into Iraq the first time. It is? Really? Because we did? Nice circular logic. And good use of the word cockamamie. McCain sounds like Stadler & Waldorf.

9:48- Obama talking directly into the camera. Except when he looks at his ring finger. Does he have crib notes there?

9:50- NAFTA- Obama brings it up, and McCain's eyes light up. Uh,oh. Where is he gonna take this?

Offshore drilling will not be feasible for ten years. Which is not now. And is definitely not McCain's now. Or then. Eeesh.

Drug War! Let us PLEASE talk about this. Oh, wait. Drugs kill kids. Nevermind.

9:55- McCain back on the attack- restrict trade, raise taxes, Hoover. Nice. Wrong, misleading, and disingenuous, but typical.

The Beginning

9:00 p.m. EDT- I am watching on PBS, so I don't have to see the ridiculous crawl on CNN (or listen to Wolf "they are so poor, and they are so black" Blitzer), or hear the ridiculous commentary from everyone else. I wish the Daily Show would cover these things live.

9:02- Starting with new programs. I don't understand what all these programs have to do with the credit freeze, but ok. What I see is all of these programs promote MORE government spending. I am not against government spending, just large deficit spending. And what happens if China refuses to lend us any more money?

9:04- McCain puts the blame for the housing failures on Fannie and Freddy. Ugh. Here we go again...

9:06- Obama actually has something new to say!! Huzzah! I like the idea of taking away tax breaks for outsourcing. I like that. McCain is telling a story about a plumber. Huh? Oh, he's talking about tax brackets. And bullshit is coming out his ear. Nice comeback by Obama. By my count, Obama 2, McCain 0.

9:11- Now McCain is talking about money redistribution. Typical Republican boilerplate. I hate Republicans. Obama seems so much more calm and at ease. Even McCain's laugh is phony. Ugh.

9:13- Bob Shiffer is doing a great job as moderator. I like this format, with the candidates sitting. It's more like a discussion. Obama is talking in circles, and is reverting back to Democratic boilerplate. Ugh. McCain is talking about Depression-era programs that purposefully excluded minorities. Yeah, we should go back to that.

9:18- McCain keeps telling me that he knows how to do stuff, but offers no details. Except going back to pork-barrel spending. Line-item veto alert! Uh, the Supreme Court ruled that unconstitutional. Case closed. Earmarks are such as small part of the budget, which Obama smartly points out. Damn, he's good.

9:21- States "balance" their budgets because the federal government subsidizes them. How can Senators not know this?

9:24- High road question- nice. Well formulated, too. Let's see them run around this...McCain's up first. We go to Lewis. Unfortunate. He wants Obama to repudiate Lewis' remarks, but won't repudiate Palin's (pals with terrorists). Hypocrite. Obama is handling this well. He makes good points, and is very classy. He just seems more presidential.

9:30- Fuck you, McCain for bringing up the Dallas loss.

Why is the amount of money Obama spends on ads relevant? And why do we have to get back to redistribution of wealth? Dammit.

Presidential Debate Live Blog, Part Dos

Ok, I'm going to try this again, but this time from the beginning. Or until I can't stand watching anymore. Part of the reason I took a sabattical from the political scene was due to the tone of the campaign. I really thought the tenor of this campaign would be different. I was wrong.

I am tired of divisive politics. Now, I don't think that this phenomenon is new, nor do I think that it was "better in the old days." Politics is dirty and I get that, but I don't have to like it. Call me an idealist. Go on, do it. Thanks. I feel better now. I'd rather be an idealist than have to suffer through more spurrious claims and half-truths. I would love for there to be a civilized discourse between the parties that addressed the major issues facing our country. Ok, I'm a dreamer, too.

How 'Bout Them Roy Williamses?

So news out of Valley Ranch was mixed today, after a tough weekend. On the bad side, Adam "make it rain" Jones was suspended for at least 4 games for getting into a fight with the guy who was supposed to keep him out of trouble and breaking a mirror in an upscale Dallas hotel bathroom. I fully understand that Pacman was, as JJ put it, walking on a tightrope with no net, but 4 games? For fighting with a bodyguard? I think it should have been handled in-house, but I'm not the commissioner. I am all for this "zero-tolerance" policy, but it is being enforced so erratically that you would think Goddell was doing his best John McCain impression ("You know who got suspended? THAT ONE!) My buddy Kenny talks about my racial hypothesis (untested- theory is tested, like Evolution) in his post on these issues, so I won't delve deep into it here. Suffice it to say that Matt Jones (JAX) is still playing after getting caught snorting cocaine in a car prior to the season.

On the injury front, Romo is out 4 weeks due to a broken pinkie, Felix Jones is out at least 2 weeks with a partially torn hamstring, T-New is out 4 weeks after sports hernia surgery, and Matt McBrier broke his foot on the play that lost the game Sunday. Good Times! Normally I wouldn't complain about injuries, but these are important players in all phases of the game. Fortunately, Kyle Kosier should be back by week 8, and Roy Williams38 should as well. I have to make the numerical distinction now because Roy Williams11 now plays for the Cowboys, making Dallas one step closer to having all the athletic Roy Williamses (if only we can convince Roy WilliamsUNC to join the staff as a motivational speaker or something). I am pleased with the Roy11 acquisition because 1) we get immediately better at WR, 2) we get immediately younger at WR, and 3) teams can't afford to double team TO anymore. Even with 90 year old Brad Johnson at QB for the next 3 games, out offense got more explosive. If that were possible. Now all we have to do is block.

Presidential Debate Live Blog

So I'm gonna try this...even though I'm late starting.

9:58- the discussion is on health care, and both Obama and McCain talk all around the issue. What kills me is how McCain is trying to ham it up for the crowd. Then he goes back to American Exceptionalism, and talking about how great America is.

10:00- Foreign Policy- What I disagree most about it is the belief that the only sacrifice Americans ever make is sending soldiers to die. That only those who die in wars are American heroes. Bullshit. I get tired of the bloody flag.

10:06- I like the idea of moral responsiblity that Obama is talking about. I think that is the ignored part of leftist thinking. That America can act out of its moral responsiblity rather than purely national security concerns. Oh- and I'm really sick of McCain calling me his friend, my friends. The idea that national security is the only role of the US government is fundamentally flawed. As it says in the preamble to the Constitution, the government is responsible for: establishing justice, ensuring domestic tranquility, providing for the common defense, promoting the general welfare, and securing the blessings of liberty. That would mean that national security is only 20% of what the government should be concerned with. But McCain wants to freeze spending on everything but the military. (shakes head)

10:18- McCain keeps attacking Obama without actually answering any question. Good Times! I love it when politicians in the middle of a crisis refuse to address the issues and instead revert to character assassination and drum old drumbeats of partisan divide.
Obama seems less confident when dealing with Russia and our relationship with Putin. However, that's what Biden is for, I guess. Obama still demonstrates a command of the larger picture, much more so than does McCain. I think that is important.

10:25- Israel. Why is this being discussed? I know Israel is our ally and all, but still.

Regardless, McCain talks about how Iran acquiring nuclear weapons would lead to every country wanting them. Duh! Israel ALREADY has nukes, which would seem to me to be why (at least partly) Iran wants them. Pakistan got nukes because India had them. The USSR got nukes because we had them. Makes perfect sense to me. I don't like the framing of this question.

10:31- Final "Zen" question. Obama nailed the beginning (the toughest challenges are those you don't expect), then fell right back into his backstory. I don't need that at this juncture of the campaign.

McCain blew me away by telling me that we don't know what the future holds, and that he specifically doesn't know the future. He ran his own backstory. Awesome!

How in the world does McCain hope to pass himself off as the "steady hand on the till"? All of his actions on this campaign seems to me to be anything but steady.