I've been active in Republican politics since I was 16, and I've been involved in probably well over 100 campaigns on the city/town, county, state, and national level, and have been campaign manager for several. In 2004, I gave my life to Bush's campaign, and was a paid staffer for him. We are talking consecutive nights with no sleep, weeks at a time with no voice because I was campaigning so much. Obviously, as evidenced by the leveling of my druid, I have no loyalty to a particular candidate in this election, or I'd be playing WoW a lot less. Problem is, with this election, people like me aren't jazzed about McCain because he's done nothing for us. As a matter of fact, he has prided himself on ignoring us. I'm not religious, but I am a pretty staunch conservative (even though most of the time people assume the conservative base is all religious zealots, that is not the case with many of us). Obama has a huge following of people who expect him to do stuff for them, becuse as Democrats do, he's promised more social programs ... and he caters to the far left edge of the Democratic party, groups who have been waiting for a guy like Obama to galvanize around. He has also accepted them and their agendas with open arms, and it can be expected that in his administration, his policies will reflect his ties to far left causes (don't even get me started about how his friends... Ayers, Wright, Pflager, Khalidi, etc... will influence his policies). His feelings on the coal industry, released in a tape today, pretty much tell you he's in bed with environmentalists and will attempt to run down industries in his presidency that will interfere with the agendas of those groups with whom he has major ties.
I'm sure you all know about the Rush Limbaugh "Operation Chaos." Well, I think it took Republicans until AFTER McCain was chosen as our nominee (and maybe not even then) to realize that we were the victims of a reverse "Operation Chaos" by Democrats and "Independents" who voted for McCain because they KNEW he'd be the easiest to beat. Unfortunately, the blatant lack of objectivity by the media in this election has allowed the Democratic propaganda machine to be able to say things and have absolutely no accountability for what they are saying. I identify as more of a fiscal Conservative than a social one, honestly, but I am a classic Conservative overall. Therefore, Obama's would-be policies scare the bejeezus out of me especially since, if I get the job I really want, I'll be making well over $100,000/year within 5 years. His consistent lowering of the "magic number" - first $250,000, then $200,000 and recently $150,000 is frightening... and I predict that, no matter how much he claims he won't raise taxes on the middle class he'll turn around and do what Clinton did - raise middle class taxes 26 days after being inaugurated. With the ambitious government programs (about $1 trillion worth) he wouldn't be able to NOT raise taxes on the middle class, and I wish more people saw that his numbers don't add up. It is impossible to grow government and reduce the tax burden on ordinary people. To me, Obama's policies seem very anti-growth. If you penalize people who MAKE money, you discourage them from investing. Many wealthy people are business owners, and if you make it impossible for them to gain profit (and tax them to oblivion) they have to lay people off and cannot provide raises for their employees. Programs that provide people with goods and money but no incentive to work for those themselves are horribly anti-growth. You know what they say... give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, he'll eat for a lifetime. Or an even better analogy my dad told me (that represents the ineffectiveness of bottom-up economic policies): if you pour water at the bottom of a hill, it pools there. If you pour it at the top of the hill, it flows down and covers the whole hill.
Unfortunately, I think Obama WILL win. My hope is that Senate doesn't end up with a supermajority, and even Chuck Schumer thinks that's unlikely... which is a shining beacon of HOPE for me. Everyone talks about how Bush is so terrible, but Bush has had split government for the last 2 years (arguably when things started going downhill). Most people have no understanding of Congress and how it works - and have no idea that a president can do very little without Congressional support. But even though this is probably the lowest-approval rating Congress in history, people aren't putting 2 and 2 together. A unified government with Obama (far left) and this Congress (also far left) will be a disaster. I don't care if Obama wins (well, I do) but solidly unified government with a supermajority in the Senate is BAD NEWS. The greatest policies come from bipartisanship and divided government, and by and large most people PREFER divided government to avoid consolidation of power by one party.
So, I'm that girl I hate - the one who is voting AGAINST someone because they don't like their own party's candidate, but they really hate the other party's candidate. I predict, ahead of time, that if Obama does win he'll be a 1 term president. He is the perfect storm of Johnson and Carter, both of whom were not very successful presidents (unless you count Johnson's "Great Society," the beginning of socialism in this country, as success). Carter failed to have a grasp on Middle Eastern politics... and arguably created many of the problems we face in the Middle East today. I believe Obama suffers from that same hindrance. He is VERY wet behind the ears, has very limited international experience, and I think will find himself, as Biden said, in the clutches of an international crisis. Most Democrats make much better domestic presidents than international ones... and this is not a time for a president who doesn't have a grasp on international affairs. Actually, one of the biggest dangers of an Obama presidency is his ability to appoint judges. I can see it now, he'll appoint radical, legislate-from-the-bench judges (as if we're not dealing with enough Carter and Clinton appointees already) who will rule on ideology instead of constitution. Unfortunately, even though the president has nothing to do with the economy, many people are being pulled in by this "change" thing - not realizing that Obama will have absolutely no say over what happens with the markets, and that punishing a party by voting blindly for the other side can only cause more problems. If anything, his negative-growth policies will scare investors and you watch - the market and the economy will tank soon after he's elected. We are a short-sighted country, though... and many people in my age group weren't around yet when our parents were feeling the burden of Carter's policies. I doubt that even if they had been around, that they would have equated the disastrous Carter administration with the kind of administration Obama might have.
I know this is long-winded, but I've had SO much to say this election cycle, and no one seems to be listening... which is really frustrating.
But I guess our waiting is over tomorrow, right? If you're an Obama supporter and you've been working hard for him, I respect your dedication, because I know how rigorous campaigns are. This election cycle has been so nasty, I can't talk to at least 1/2 of my friends... and that's not how it should be, but it just shows how polarized this election is. And I think the "deciders" aren't even partisans.
And you know what? If for some reason his administration turns out okay and he does positive things, I'll be the first to admit it.
I'm just feeling really doubtful that this is what America needs right now.
But yes, even though it makes me unhappy to admit it... I think Obama will win. So maybe I'll just bury myself in WoW for the next 4 years.
