If Barack Obama wins the Democratic nomination, the general election will feature two real change agents. What? John McCain is not a change agent? Au contraire, mes amis. Look at his response to Cincinnati right wing wacko radio host Bill Cunningham. After Cunningham went on a ridiculous rant in his warm up introduction for McCain, invoking the name 'Barack Hussein Obama' half a dozen times and saying that Madeleine Albright looked 'like death warmed over', John McCain unequivocally denounced Cunningham's remarks. He stated that he respected his Democratic rivals and then took full responsibility for Cunningham's appearance, even though his campaign operation should have vetted the host's remarks. If that isn't a change in Republican politics as usual, I don't what is.
The bigger change, though, involves the level of discourse in American politics. A presidential race that is not waged in the gutter will attract more participation. It will inspire more young people to enter the political arena. Obama's positive, respectful campaign has already done this. McCain, by his actions, is calling on the 'values voters' to do more than just talk about good 'ol American values. He refuses to celebrate the heralds of those voters, these right wing media nuts who can't even practice the simple values of courtesy and respect. This election, one way or the other, will be about change. And don't think a guy with white hair can't be a change agent, too.
Speaking of change... who is going to be able to able to change this trend: the Federal government's health spending is supposed to double by 2017. It will account for 20% of our GDP. http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2008/02/26/feds-health-spending-to-double-in-a-decade/
There are no great options to curb this inflationary trend. Hillary Clinton and Obama believe that improvements in administration (electronic billing for example) can save up to 70 billion dollars per year. McCain thinks that free market principles can fix the problem. I doubt it. I don't have the answers, but somehow I think you need to bifurcate the system into two separate areas: health care and catastrophic care. Health care involves prevention and wellness, catastrophic care deals with injury and disease. These are two completely different areas of the issue. For example, we could remove onerous tort insurance for GPs who only practiced wellness care. This would lower costs, encouraging people to get preventive care, which would prevent more serious illness in the future. Anyway, I'd love to hear from you about this issue.
More change...what about Iraq? Obama and McCain sparred from a distance on the issue, even as conflicting reports paint different portraits of the situation. Fox News correspondent Jennifer Griffin (a highly respected observer of the region) recently returned from Iraq talking about the radically improved landscape there. She described now-peaceful Anbar Province where Marines 'are actually bored' due to the lack of fighting. She offered a much more peaceful Bagdhad as further proof that we are in fact making huge strides in Iraq. She reminded listeners of Potus '08 that the government had achieved several of the benchmarks that were crucial to moving forward: a budget for 2008 and limited amnesty for detainees in Iraqi custody. Also, inflation had dropped from 32% to 10%. The bad news? Well, a key measure for provincial elections was sent back to the Parliament for more work. And Admiral Fallon was not ready to resume more troop withdrawals. Maybe that was due to incidents like Sunday's suicide bombing of 56 innocent pilgrims making their way to Karbala. So which candidate will actually forge a change in policy. Will Obama (or Hillary) really have the cajones to start an immediate withdrawal? Will McCain ratchet up our troop presence? Interesting to see. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120412290878896765.html?mod=special_page_iraq_1
And finally, the economy. Really nothing but bad news. And it's not just the media making it bad this time, folks. Check this out: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120412412525296845.html?mod=hps_us_mostpop_viewed . Chairman 'I' seem to be in over my head' Bernanke did his usual "I'll cut the Fed rate but I'm woried about inflation" two step. Aren't we all? In the end, the economy will carry the day in this Presidential election and the candidate who comes through with the most dynamic solutions to the current situation will win. Here's an interesting idea to check out: http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2008/02/27/zandi-a-mortgage-bailout-would-cost-up-to-250-billion/ even though Treasury Secretary Paulson isn't crazy about the idea.
A PTTP tip of the hat to the late William F. Buckley, who died yesterday. Conservative when it wasn't hip, his National Review founded the modern conservative movement and expanded the political conversation in a unique, stylish way. Wiity, caustic, reasoned and principled, he inspired many young people who felt marginalized by the progressive movement of the sixties-- Peggy Noonan, chief among them. He will be missed.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120414750648997515.html?mod=hps_us_inside_today
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