Quote:
Originally Posted by Jon
But, the ability to inspire is a part of leadership. I have seen nothing in John McCain now that suggests he has any greater leadership ability than Barack Obama. McCain has sold his soul to get the nomination. He has renounced his previous positions to adopt the positions of the right wing of the Republican Party. He has hired former Bush people to run is campaign and his campaign is using the same disgusting tactics that he cried out against in 2000. He can claim as much as he wants that he is still the maverick from eight years ago, but he's not. He now believes in drilling, he now believes that abortion should be banned, he accuses his opponents of being traitors if they disagree with him, and his Vice-Presidential pick was someone who was a repeat offender on his pork barrel spending list (and apparently not vetted). What little detail in terms of policy in his speech was a regurgitation of Republican tactics. And his strategy of saying elect a Republican to fix problems that Republicans caused makes no sense.
Just because you were a prisoner of war does not mean he should be president. It doesn't make him a leader. Just because you're willing to restore brinkmanship as an American foreign policy does not make a person a leader. I question his judgment, his temperment, and, now, his integrity. His investigation into Abramoff was incomplete (he didn't go after everybody and they later turned around to help him) and his past is not really one of a reformer.
And, I felt bad for him tonite. His speech was bad. I mean painfully bad. You had the green screen, you had the crowd chanting USA when he talked about a guy who didn't have a job, he talked about standing on your side (my g/f mentioned that her physical therapist does it and maybe that's his health care plan), he said something about Palin working with her hands and her nose. He looked old and uncomfortable at times. Even Cindy McCain looked cross at times. And the kid yawning was priceless.
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Not to nit-pick, but Obama has changed his positions as well. Politics is about doing what gets you elected. Real leadership requires more then charisma. It requires vision (actual ideas, strategies, and goals) and substance. It requires a leader to think quickly and take swift action. It requires one to stand his ground and stand behind what he believes in, not catering to what is popular. To me, neither candidate has a lot of these qualities. It sucks that we are down to the two candidates we have. Of course, it's typical politics, no matter how they dress themselves.
I just wish the Libertarian party was a lot stronger.