OH, COME ON.
I mean, I get it. We're supposed to think:
- John McCain knows this is an emergency! He knows it, like, way more than Obama does. We can't participate in silly frivolities, like debates, when there are important briefings to read and Congressional hearings to fall asleep in.
- John McCain is selfless. He is answering the Call of Duty. He knows his leadership is badly needed in Washington. There aren't nearly enough intelligent experts working on our economic situation.
- John McCain knows the American people don't want to see partisan bickering in a time of crisis. That's why he's decided not to show a single smear campaign advertisement on television for, like, one day.
During an interview yesterday, McCain admitted he didn't understand the details of how foreign banks might benefit from the bailout. And I don't imagine that people on Capitol Hill have a whole lot of time to get him up to speed on that. Whether McCain is physically present or not, the problem will be dealt with by the lawmakers and experts who are giving their full attention to its resolution.
If consumer confidence and taxpayer trust are so important, why won't he get in front of voters instead? Nothing would give Americans more comfort than being able to hear this candidate's plan for a more ethical, equitable and stable financial system. Unless, of course, he doesn't have a plan like that. In which case the American people -- made distrustful, cynical, and anxious by the massive failure and impending rescue of the rich and powerful -- will start throwing rotten tomatoes and bad Gallup polls in his direction.
What's even more sinister is that McCain's ploy contributes to the sense that we must act immediately. That if we spend too long reading, thinking, planning, and discussing details (like liberal elitist pansies), our economy will be completely fucked and we'll have "partisanship" to blame.
Remember the last time we rushed through important data in order to act on a conflict that our government deemed urgent? Turns out some of that data was made up. Turns out that certain people had a lot to gain from the decisions that were so hastily made.
I don't want to sound like a 9/11 Truth wingnut. This situation is no doubt serious and time-sensitive. But McCain's statement has suggested we could -- and should -- have the bailout passed by Monday morning. He thinks we should hurry up. The question is, hurry up for whom?
3 comments:
Choose Sarah Palin, cancel part of RNC, delay debate. His whole campaign reminds me of this
Much to our surprise, however, Congress seems to be able to (dys?)function without the leadership and experience of McCain, whose expertise in economic policy is well-known (re: McCain "doesn’t really understand economics"). Is that a blow to the pride of our fearlessly arrogant candidate?
Is it also bothersome that once again Obama and McCain have virtually identical positions on the bailout?
Totally. The fact that Obama and McCain were able to issue a joint statement on the bailout was disheartening to me. If it means that Obama is just as uninterested as McCain is in trying to revamp our financial system so that it redistributes wealth and security ... in ANY sense ... then that's pretty sad.
Obama and the Dems could be pushing to make sure that the government reaps PROFITS (because after all, SOMEONE will eventually reap profits) from this deal. We could spend those profits on things that benefit everyone, like universal health care. After all, this bailout will essentially make the government the largest shareholder in a whole lot of private companies. And as we all know, they've got OBLIGATIONS to their SHAREHOLDERS.
Argh.
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