Posted by
Rich from Paso on Friday, July 11, 2008 8:10:20 PM
In the last few days, we have seen our two candidates track different paths on subjects of great concern to the American people. Fortunately, it is John McCain rather than Barack Obama that is doing things right.
The first topic was John McCain dismissing Phil Gramm for his comments about Americans "whinning" about their economic situation. This statement was incredibly stupid and insensitive. The fact is that perceptions are reality. The perception battle is what helped to kill the re-election of George H. W. Bush as the media did story after story on Bush not knowing the price of milk and stuff like that. McCain was wise to dismiss Phil Gramm and get ahead of the bone-headed comments.
The second topic is the lack of foreign language education in American schools that Obama thought severe enough to opine that he was embarassed that Americans only know "Merci beau coup" when traveling to France. My first question is: what average American can afford to fly to France this summer with fuel prices so high and the dollar so low? My second question is: considering what a sorry job our schools do teaching kids their primary language, English, why should we be worrying about them speaking a second or third language poorly? Fact is that Obama is rapidly portraying himself as out of touch and an elitist. Actually, he has been working on the elitist part for some time now. With his comments about Pennsylvania voters clinging to "God and guns during times of difficulty", Obama is showing that he is out of touch with average Americans. The biggest mistake Obama will make is not supporting a lift on the congressional ban against drilling for oil off-shore. Obama's answers to date can be summed up as: I'm going to punish Big Oil with high taxes. When confronted with stories of hardships caused by high fuel prices, Obama's answers have been basically "alternative forms of energy will save us". In other words, Barack "Marie Antoinette" Obama is telling poor and middle class Americans. "Let them drive Priuses", a car most Americans can afford to buy and can't afford to maintain if they buy them.
Poll after poll shows that most Americans are doing okay, but it is their neighbors, friends and family that they worry about more. In 1992, James Carvelle accurately summed up the race then as "It's the economy, stupid." While oft repeated, with high foreclosures, high gas prices, higher levels of interest rates, higher levels of unemployment, teh first candidate that can connect with those Americans that are worried about the course the country is headed on and offers tangible plans to aleviate the pains, real or perceived, that they are feeling will win this election.