A piece in The Nation by William Greider puts into context the choice by John McCain [72 years today] of a VP for his election campaign [aged 44] in a piece "McCain's Hail Mary Pass":
"The news was so stunning I refused to believe it until I saw John McCain on the TV screen announcing his pick for Vice President. There's no need to disparage Sarah Palin. She's seems like a smart, serious person. But what the choice reveals about McCain is devastating with a capital D for Desperation.
Within forty-eight hours, all America will be talking about her. What people will say is, "You mean, if John McCain croaks, she becomes our president?" Gasp, yes. That is what McCain has decided. So much for "experience" and wise judgment as a campaign issue.
The Senator was widely thought to be on the fifty-yard line, nose to nose with Barack Obama. But this selection reveals the Republican campaign strategists knew better. Picking the obscure and under-experienced governor from Alaska for veep means McCain and his people recognize they are in a very weak position for the fall campaign. So weak they decided to throw a forty-year Hail Mary pass and hope audaciously for a lucky catch."
Meanwhile, The Nation itself editorialises in "We'll Take It From Here" on the forthcoming election:
"As they arrive in Minneapolis for their convention, Republicans cannot evade the monuments to their misrule. Only a few miles from convention headquarters is the site of the I-35W bridge, which collapsed last summer, killing thirteen and injuring 145, symbol of the Republican drive to "starve the beast" by stinting on basic public investment, rolling back sensible regulation, scorning the very government they were elected to lead. Also nearby is the Larry Craig memorial toilet, symbol of the seamy hypocrisy of those who would enforce a blinkered morality on others, as they flout it privately. In Minnesota hotel rooms a short video, presented courtesy of the Campaign for America's Future, thanks Republicans "for the memories": Iraq, Katrina, record home foreclosures, Gilded Age inequality, corporate cronyism, Abu Ghraib, Guantánamo and more.
Eight years ago, the people gave the right the keys to the country. With a GOP Congress, conservatives had the power to govern on their own terms--and they drove the country off a cliff. America is weaker and more isolated abroad, with our reputation besmirched and our influence blunted. They've made us the world's largest debtor, with our dollar debased and our economy dependent on the generosity of foreign central bankers. Three million manufacturing jobs have been lost. George W. Bush and John McCain say the basics of the economy are strong, but most Americans have fared worse, even when the economy grew. The wealthiest 0.1 percent--those with incomes over the $5 million that McCain says one must earn to be rich--have captured grossly disproportionate rewards from the nation's growth. Corruption and cronyism--Halliburton, Enron, WorldCom, Big Pharma and Big Oil--have plundered billions from our Treasury. The Iraq debacle has squandered more than $1 trillion and counting. Heavy challenges like global warming have been scorned. Our broken healthcare system has deteriorated even further while our civil liberties have been curtailed by an imperial President who disrespects the Republic itself. The right's failure is complete."
"The news was so stunning I refused to believe it until I saw John McCain on the TV screen announcing his pick for Vice President. There's no need to disparage Sarah Palin. She's seems like a smart, serious person. But what the choice reveals about McCain is devastating with a capital D for Desperation.
Within forty-eight hours, all America will be talking about her. What people will say is, "You mean, if John McCain croaks, she becomes our president?" Gasp, yes. That is what McCain has decided. So much for "experience" and wise judgment as a campaign issue.
The Senator was widely thought to be on the fifty-yard line, nose to nose with Barack Obama. But this selection reveals the Republican campaign strategists knew better. Picking the obscure and under-experienced governor from Alaska for veep means McCain and his people recognize they are in a very weak position for the fall campaign. So weak they decided to throw a forty-year Hail Mary pass and hope audaciously for a lucky catch."
Meanwhile, The Nation itself editorialises in "We'll Take It From Here" on the forthcoming election:
"As they arrive in Minneapolis for their convention, Republicans cannot evade the monuments to their misrule. Only a few miles from convention headquarters is the site of the I-35W bridge, which collapsed last summer, killing thirteen and injuring 145, symbol of the Republican drive to "starve the beast" by stinting on basic public investment, rolling back sensible regulation, scorning the very government they were elected to lead. Also nearby is the Larry Craig memorial toilet, symbol of the seamy hypocrisy of those who would enforce a blinkered morality on others, as they flout it privately. In Minnesota hotel rooms a short video, presented courtesy of the Campaign for America's Future, thanks Republicans "for the memories": Iraq, Katrina, record home foreclosures, Gilded Age inequality, corporate cronyism, Abu Ghraib, Guantánamo and more.
Eight years ago, the people gave the right the keys to the country. With a GOP Congress, conservatives had the power to govern on their own terms--and they drove the country off a cliff. America is weaker and more isolated abroad, with our reputation besmirched and our influence blunted. They've made us the world's largest debtor, with our dollar debased and our economy dependent on the generosity of foreign central bankers. Three million manufacturing jobs have been lost. George W. Bush and John McCain say the basics of the economy are strong, but most Americans have fared worse, even when the economy grew. The wealthiest 0.1 percent--those with incomes over the $5 million that McCain says one must earn to be rich--have captured grossly disproportionate rewards from the nation's growth. Corruption and cronyism--Halliburton, Enron, WorldCom, Big Pharma and Big Oil--have plundered billions from our Treasury. The Iraq debacle has squandered more than $1 trillion and counting. Heavy challenges like global warming have been scorned. Our broken healthcare system has deteriorated even further while our civil liberties have been curtailed by an imperial President who disrespects the Republic itself. The right's failure is complete."
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