On the way to work this morning, I listened to the dire warnings of an economist on NPR. He betrayed a grave tone as he hinted at the possibility of another depression. The UK market was down 10%, as where markets in Asia. Yesterday, the DOW plummeted nearly 700 points. And who knows what it will do today. We appear to be on the precipice of an epic economic disaster, and what does John McCain want to focus on?
- Obama’s drug use. I have a friend who worked his way to the top in construction. He had a beautiful home in the DC suburbs, a job I envied and a happy, content family. But he’s been out of a job over a year. He lost his home. He had to uproot his family from the expensive DC suburbs to another state (900 miles away, closer to family) in the middle of the school year (he has three young children). His unemployment compensation is about to run out, and, as you all know (but McCain apparently doesn't), the construction job market is not healthy. My friend couldn't give two s---s about Obama’s lightweight drug use when he was a teenager.
- William Ayers. A close friend of my wife works for AIG. Her résumé is polished, but she is on egg shells about whether she’ll have a steady paycheck next week (and the accompanying health insurance). John McCain says "Americans should care about William Ayers." I think my friend would beg to differ.
- And more William Ayers still. Despite Rome burning all around him, McCain is proudly spending his donor’s contributions to echo his William Ayers platform from the trail on the TV airways. I suspect my friends who live just east of Lancaster might see his commercial. But they have to come up with over $3000 to heat their home this winter. And Juan just lost his job. They have a newborn and a six year old to worry about. So there’s a strong likelihood they won’t be watching any cable the next few months. If they do, though, the Ayer’s angle’s probably not going to resonate with them.
William Ayers and Obama’s drug use doesn’t resonate with me either. And it probably doesn’t resonate with other families struggling to make ends meet. This is what resonates with us:
I think that folks are looking for something different. It’s easy to rile up a crowd by stoking anger and division. But that’s not what we need right now in the United States. The times are too serious. The challenges are too great. The American people aren’t looking for someone who can divide this country – they’re looking for someone who will lead it. We’re in a serious crisis - now, more than ever, it is time to put country ahead of politics. Now, more than ever, it is time to bring change to Washington so that it works for the people of this country that we love.
I know my opponent is worried about his campaign. But that’s not what I’m concerned about. I’m thinking about the Americans losing their jobs, and their homes, and their life savings. We can’t afford four more years of the economic theory that says we should give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else. We can’t afford four more years of less regulation so that no one in Washington is watching anyone on Wall Street. We’ve seen where that’s led us and we’re not going back.
John McCain is unrepentantly and irreversibly tone deaf. As I sit here bracing for the opening bell--wondering about what kind of hit the 401(k)s of my mom, mother-in-law and all of their friends will take today, I cannot fathom WTF the McCain campaign is thinking.
cross-posted on MYDD