It's the Economy, Stupid

Recently, Hillary and Obama have been trying to gin up votes by trumpeting their superior understanding of the economy and plans for saving us from "the shambles" that is the US economy at the present time.

"John McCain admits he doesn't understand the economy -- and unfortunately he's proving it in this campaign," Clinton told the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO union group.

After seven disastrous years of George Bush and Dick Cheney, the stakes in this election couldn't be higher and the need to change course couldn't be more urgent. But John McCain is only offering more of the same," the New York senator said.

Obama, an Illinois senator, said all McCain offers "is four more years of the same
George W. Bush policies that have gotten us into this pickle."

He noted McCain's support for extending Bush's tax cuts, which Obama said would help the wealthy, and his support for trade agreements that Obama said do not protect U.S. workers.

With their weak qualifications in the realms of foreign policy, national defense, and general leadership, it is understandable that these two Democrats would attempt to make something else the decisive issue for this election. The current downturn/recession gives them an opportunity. And the typical Democrat platform of promising that the government will give the citizens more and more stuff for nothing can be a seductive pitch.

However, trouble may lie ahead for even this appeal. Thomas Barnett is a long-time Democrat. During his appearance on NARN last year he made known his fondness for the "centrism" of a Hillary Clinton. And even he has a problem with the economic rhetoric and schemes being peddled by the Democrats running for President.

Both Clinton and Obama, if elected, present the frightening spectacle of a pandering Democratic White House looking for easy wins with an angry citizenry on protectionism because getting such wins on Iraq will be almost impossible.

Both Clinton and Obama now bash NAFTA, China and oppose the free trade pact proposed with Colombia, the rejection of which would constitute one big F.U. to Uribe and the magnificent effort he's put in despite our still foolish, supply-side-focus on the drug "war."

McCain would scare me on many levels, but a Dem prez plus strengthened Dem majorities in both houses? Yikes, that's got Smoot-Hawley written all over it, and that would be significantly more damaging to world stability than even nuking Iran--I kid you not.

The longer such nonsense gets pushed by the Dem candidates, the more presidential McCain looks--I kid you not.

McCain and the Republican party establishment will no doubt be making similar criticisms and arguments in the general election campaign to come. When they are shouted down as fear-mongering, lying, extremists, we'll have to remember to send Barnett a membership card for the Right Wing Noise Machine.