Wednesday, February 6, 2008

The Nausea Factor

By Alan Caruba

There always comes a time at some point in the process by which Americans select the next “leader of the free world” that one experiences the nausea incurred by too much political rhetoric. There is an impolite word for this that begins with the word “bull.”

Depending on one’s age, fortitude, gullibility, gender, et cetera, the nausea can set in early or late, but it will arrive and, with it, what is generally called wisdom. There is that quiet voice in the back of your head that says these are the same people that put the nation in the mess we’re in and we’re arguing over which one of them should dig the hole deeper.

How much change will either Sen. Obama, McCain or Clinton bring about when they have all been part of the gang that managed to add 55,000 “earmarks” over Bush’s seven years in office that cost Americans more than $100 billion? When the President sent a $3 trillion dollar budget to Congress this year, not one of them rushed to the microphone to suggest we’re broke. The government keeps itself in business by borrowing millions every day.

And, guess what? All around the world bankers and hedge fund gamblers are trying to figure out how much money they’ve already lost in the subprime mortgage debacle. One bank in France lost $7 billion because one very low level employee broke the rules and nobody noticed. That doesn’t put folks in a mood to lend to anyone, including the U.S. of A. where the value of homes is dropping like a stone.

I do not normally pontificate about politics. I am busy enough pointing to the cracks in the dam where policy failures in areas like energy, education, or immigration are showing signs of stress and collapse, enough to leave politicians standing around in Congress asking, “What happened” and not, as usual, having any common sense answers.

That said, it seems to me the wheels are coming off both parties. Forget about the rallies filled with cheering crowds, the endlessly parsed speeches and answers, or the drama of who won what state, has x-number of delegates, or cried (again). The voters are so sharply divided that the party leaders must be wondering how their candidate will be nominated without conventions where television viewers will watch anarchy in the aisles.

The party conventions are likely to be a bloodletting as the “big tent” collapses under the weight of fractious constituencies. Ultimately, the “super delegates”, party workers, most of whom will vote to protect their jobs, will decide the outcome. And absolutely no one will be happy.

For now, this onlooker is trying to recover from the nausea of a night of endless blather by people who are supposed to know what’s happening, but more often than not seem as confused as the viewers. As for the polls and the pundits, pay them no mind.

3 comments:

Andy said...

hey Alan,
Correction on your trillion $ budget numbers, it should be 3.1 not 13.

Too add to your nausea, I think the previous debates have been absurd (especially the one guided by A.Cooper). Cooper focused all of the (his) attention and questions on two of the four cadidates, McCain and Romney. The other two guys, Huckabee and Dr. Paul just sat there for 45 minutes shrugging their shoulders as Coops blew them off by saying, "I'm going to get to you both I promise." And he never did.

How much more spoonfeeding can the media do? We the people are being pointed towards the endpoint like a horse wearing blinders.

I absolutley agree with your point of electing someone already in the ditch to dig it deeper. Or better yet, delegate other to dig for him.

Have a good Wednesday,
Andy

Longstreet said...

Great stuff, Alan... as usual! I also agree with Andy's comment above.

Once the MsM has McCain... more or less,... securely in place as the nominee, they'll begin pointing out his short-comings. All of this is a form of "setting the table" for the final push and the ultimate victory of the democrat candidate.

For McCain to have any chance, at all, of winning the November election, Hillary MUST be the democrat candidate. If Obama, finally, winds up wth the delegates and leaves the democrat convention as the nominee, it's over. He WILL be the next President.

Again, Great Stuff!

Longstreet

Alan Caruba said...

Thank you, gentlemen. I corrected the error, but what's a few trillion among friends, huh?

I am beginning to think a lot of conservatives of every description will sit this one out. At least with Hillary we get the ruinous liberal policies we expect, but can at least blame it on the Democrats. With McCain, the GOP takes the fall.