On DNC and VP
Obama's speech last night played to his strengths. He's charismatic, engaging, and commands your attention. I think he did a good job of framing his life story in a way that voters can connect with him. His mother used food stamps, his grandmother worked up from the secretarial pool - these are the kind of things that help offset that 'elitist' and 'celebrity' label that's been attached to him by recent ads.
I like that he revisited the 'no blue states, no red states' theme that served him so well four years ago, and I think that's a big part of his appeal. He isn't business as usual in Washington politics - the way that Kerry was back in 2004 - and I think voters respond to his youth and vitality. Change is a big thing, especially contrasted against an administration that's been such a total failure.
Of course, just saying 'change' isn't enough, and Obama needs to deliver a solid platform. He gave some details last night. He's got an exit strategy for Iraq and a plan to reinforce Afghanistan. He wants to use tax rebates and middle-class tax cuts to stimulate the economy. He talked about spending $150 billion in the next decade to make clean energy and renewable fuels a reality. He pushed for a national health care plan. And he had strong ideas for education, including a concept for exchanging college tuition for community service.
Now that's a solid platform, but the questions for any candidate will always start with how you pay for all of that. I didn't expect him to give a budget speech, but he mentioned the costs and how he planned on going through the federal budget line-by-line and cutting wasteful or ineffective programs. It sounds like he's going to close some corporate tax loopholes, let some of Bush's tax cuts lapse, and pull some cash in from companies that otherwise aren't paying for health care. Will that, combined with reviewing and/or eliminating wasteful spending, be enough? Maybe not. And I'm sure he'll have to make some compromises along the way. Every president does. But his speech gave a clear outline of how he wants to govern and what sort of imprint he wants to make. These are things I agree with, and it reinforced my confidence that this is the right guy for our country at this time.
***
Today, I'm watching the silent images on CNBC of McCain's running mate announcement. Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, who wasn't on many radar screens before the DNC, seems like an interesting (and risky) choice. Like Obama did with Joe Biden, McCain's chosen someone who complements him. Governor Palin is a popular governor in her first term, relatively new to the national scene, and is a 44-year-old mother of five. She'll certainly appeal to disaffected Hillary Clinton supporters, and should cement the contingent of married women who voted for Bush in the last election (55% of that segment, according to MSNBC). She's got the conservative credentials - pro-life, pro-death-penalty, anti-pork barrel (she's strongly opposed to Alaska's indicted Senator Ted Stevens) - but has that huge hurdle of inexperience to overcome. How will she handle herself in a VP debate with a veteran legislator, and foreign-policy expert, like Joe Biden? Will voters have confidence in her to run the country should anything happen to McCain?
It's a bold choice, and a savvy one. It works for McCain the same way that Biden works for Obama -- each candidate has a running mate that helps shore up their perceived weaknesses. Each ticket now has an elder statesman with years of DC experience, and a relative newcomer of a younger generation. Each can offer expertise in foreign policy and a strong appeal to younger voters.
It's shaping up to be a good race.
I like that he revisited the 'no blue states, no red states' theme that served him so well four years ago, and I think that's a big part of his appeal. He isn't business as usual in Washington politics - the way that Kerry was back in 2004 - and I think voters respond to his youth and vitality. Change is a big thing, especially contrasted against an administration that's been such a total failure.
Of course, just saying 'change' isn't enough, and Obama needs to deliver a solid platform. He gave some details last night. He's got an exit strategy for Iraq and a plan to reinforce Afghanistan. He wants to use tax rebates and middle-class tax cuts to stimulate the economy. He talked about spending $150 billion in the next decade to make clean energy and renewable fuels a reality. He pushed for a national health care plan. And he had strong ideas for education, including a concept for exchanging college tuition for community service.
Now that's a solid platform, but the questions for any candidate will always start with how you pay for all of that. I didn't expect him to give a budget speech, but he mentioned the costs and how he planned on going through the federal budget line-by-line and cutting wasteful or ineffective programs. It sounds like he's going to close some corporate tax loopholes, let some of Bush's tax cuts lapse, and pull some cash in from companies that otherwise aren't paying for health care. Will that, combined with reviewing and/or eliminating wasteful spending, be enough? Maybe not. And I'm sure he'll have to make some compromises along the way. Every president does. But his speech gave a clear outline of how he wants to govern and what sort of imprint he wants to make. These are things I agree with, and it reinforced my confidence that this is the right guy for our country at this time.
***
Today, I'm watching the silent images on CNBC of McCain's running mate announcement. Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, who wasn't on many radar screens before the DNC, seems like an interesting (and risky) choice. Like Obama did with Joe Biden, McCain's chosen someone who complements him. Governor Palin is a popular governor in her first term, relatively new to the national scene, and is a 44-year-old mother of five. She'll certainly appeal to disaffected Hillary Clinton supporters, and should cement the contingent of married women who voted for Bush in the last election (55% of that segment, according to MSNBC). She's got the conservative credentials - pro-life, pro-death-penalty, anti-pork barrel (she's strongly opposed to Alaska's indicted Senator Ted Stevens) - but has that huge hurdle of inexperience to overcome. How will she handle herself in a VP debate with a veteran legislator, and foreign-policy expert, like Joe Biden? Will voters have confidence in her to run the country should anything happen to McCain?
It's a bold choice, and a savvy one. It works for McCain the same way that Biden works for Obama -- each candidate has a running mate that helps shore up their perceived weaknesses. Each ticket now has an elder statesman with years of DC experience, and a relative newcomer of a younger generation. Each can offer expertise in foreign policy and a strong appeal to younger voters.
It's shaping up to be a good race.