Fear vs. Face

So….

I’m watching the 2nd Presidential Debate (DVR is a wonderful thing). I’ve come to a conclusion about McCain and Obama.

One of the most prominent things that has come to mind is the need to hold a debate that fields questions held important by a younger demographic. The “town hall” debate room looked distinctly like a room full of retirees. This leads me to believe that those surveyed were not in a demographic that included ages 18-30.

Also, both Obama and McCain are far better examples of leaders suited to the White House than anyone in the past…at least up until I was born.
Here are some thoughts…

There has been decidedly less sucker-punching in the debates and the campaign by the candidates this term. That is not to say that their supporters are being so gracious, but the candidates are definitely being far more tactful with each other.

• I am absolutely overjoyed that both candidates would love nothing more than to jail lobbyists that deliberately drown out the voice of the voters.
• For the first time in the last decade, but candidates have conceded that Bush’s Reign of Ineptitude will not be continued by the next administration.
• Both candidates recognize the need for financial restructuring of our economy and government spending. Their reason and methodology are fundamentally completely different (and diametrically opposed from the lobby and corporate perspectives), but the need for change is evident, both want to do something about it.
• I abhor any leader that uses fear for gain, much less to maintain their office. McCain’s campaign is using it more than Obama, but I cant stand hearing them reiterate how afraid we should be if we dont vote for them over and over.
• I call into question any leader that advocates continued military action in Iraq. We should have stopped once we got Hussein, and moved our focus back into Afghanistan. Now we’re stuck in a country defending a people that are going to be hard-pressed to defend themselves against their neighbors once we are gone. This in mind, the killing should be stopped now…
• I really don’t like “Face-man” approaches to serious topics. In this, Obama has disappointed me greatly, I think his writers and logicians needs some help. He’s got the right ideas, but the topics needs to be spot-on. When you say you’re going to do something, say HOW you’re going to do it. Obama isn’t really good at this. Now a key point here, there are actually detailed plans, however Obama is tactful in that he doesn’t give away a lot to the media for fear of influencing the votes he already has in the bag and/or ruining the chances of getting more.

Here are some serious considerations I don’t think are getting enough attention, mainly because there is no good answer, but they NEED to be addressed:
HEALTHCARE
The evolution of health care in almost every world demographic and a pseudo-nationalized health care system. This terminology is being avoided at all costs, but a health care system that is going to benefit the most citizens in the United States is non-commercial and standardized/regulated heavily…price-fixed if anything. This will in turn impact the 2nd largest lobby demographic in the US….Healthcare & Drugs.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY. Deliberately downplayed by emphasizing priorities in energy independence. What the hell are we going to do to support the environment AND maintain energy independence? According to our candidates…it’s one big non-solution, and it needs to be out in the open regarding our direction as a nation.

Real outside-the-box solutions…nothing is being talked about and there are some seriously ingenious ideas out there.

FAIR TAX
So far outside the box it could work. The problem? The banking institution that runs the money for the government disappears. Politicians no likey 😉

GREEN CITIES
Chattanooga…of all the ideas…this is by far the most extraordinary….

BETTER EDUCATION and ENDING HEROIFICATION
Aside from third-world countries without education systems, our education system is one of the lowest…we need to look at more successful systems that are feasible for us as a nation. In addition we need to stop a very bad strain of censorship called heroification¹

There are MORE ideas out there that deserve a level of consideration from our candidates.

Regarding the smaller political parties…
Let me be clear. I DONT LIKE ANY POLITICAL PARTIES. In rendering yourself exclusive to one party, you maintain an obligation that you might not have the balls to break away from later. There is no one group of individuals in the country that has all the right answers, and in supporting party politics I feel the wisdom we exemplify as individuals is lost en masse. The smaller political parties are smaller for a reason, they don’t appeal to enough people, either financially, ethically or individually. Most of the time this is because politicians want to win and consistently use their party to win votes rather than vice versa. Creating a different party isnt an answer…it’s just a natural reaction with so many opinions on our nations direction are flying around.

Remember, if you don’t like these opinions, I humbly refer you to the disclaimer regarding my posts at the bottom of the page. However…feel free to read and comment, I invite debate….seriously. Just don’t get all personal about it and I will refrain from reconsidering your usefulness in the gene pool 😉