Pray For Your Country, Your Leaders, and Michigan

The only word I can come up with is "disaster."

McCain lost. Badly.

U.S. Senate and House seats were lost. Here in Michigan, the only two close races both were won by negative, lying Democrats.

In Michigan, both Proposal 1 (legalizing medical marijuana) and Proposal 2 (legalizing embryonic stem cell research) won.

Cliff Taylor, a great man running for Supreme Court Justice, got whipped.

Carl Levin won another term handily.

Here in Michigan, it looks dismal. Democrats took the biggest majority in the state house that they have had in decades. (Thankfully, the Senate was not up for re-election; GOP has a slight majority there.)

The upshot of all of this: Our leaders are now chosen. Pray for them, that they will seek God's will, and make wise decisions. There will be a lot of electoral planning for the next two years, but we must pray anyway.

A Great Cartoon!

Click on it to see it larger, if need be. This one is great.

Not a Good Week in Politics...But You Have To Love This!

It was not a good week on the political front: Congress passed, and the president unwisely signed, a fat bailout bill that will cost me a lot of money over the next however-many years; McCain signed off on the same; and the McCain campaign (after spending a lot of money over the past few months on ho-hum commercials) announced that they are pulling resources out of Michigan. But...

Incidentally, here's an article I read where economists generally agree, left and right alike: The bailout plan is not good policy.

In this foxnews.com article, based on an interview earlier in the day, we got the good news that somebody in the McCain campaign—Sarah and Todd Palin—wants to campaign here! Here is a portion of the article:

Sarah Palin criticized John McCain's decision to pull campaign resources out of Michigan in an interview with FOX News on Friday, saying she and her husband Todd would "be happy" to campaign in the economically distraught battleground state.

The Republican vice presidential nominee, on the heels of her debate with Joe Biden, also took a second stab at questions that seemed to trip her up during recent interviews, declaring that she looks "forward to speaking to the media more and more every day."

Palin said the decision to pull out of Michigan, which was announced Thursday, was "not a surprise" to her since polls show McCain slipping in the state.

But Palin said that when she read the news, she "fired off a quick e-mail and said, 'Oh come on, do we have to?'"

"Todd and I, we'd be happy to get to Michigan ...We'd be so happy to speak to the people there in Michigan who are hurting," she said. "Whatever Todd and I can do in realizing what their challenges in that state are .... I wanna get back to Michigan and I want to try."

It's unclear whether the McCain campaign will heed Palin's request. McCain aides said on a conference call Thursday that Michigan had always been the weakest of the toss-up states for them, and that they are still competing in several other battlegrounds like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, and moving resources into high-stakes states like Florida.

Math Meets Politics—Obama Gets Failing Grade

During this evening's debate, Sen. Obama made the following observation [I am attempting to quote accurately here]: "We've spent $600 billion in Iraq, soon a trillion...." A moment later, he added that we are spending $10 billion a month in Iraq.

A quick bit of math demonstrates that at this $10 billion/month rate, it will take another forty months (that's 3 1/3 years) to reach the $1 trillion dollar spending threshold. I don't call that "soon." Furthermore, if spending in Iraq decreases in the months and years ahead, as it should, the man elected president this year may not even be in office when that $1 trillion threshold is reached—if it is reached at all.

So he failed on that question.

Earlier in the debate, when asked how his "list of want-to-do's" would change or be impacted by the $700 billion proposal to bailout Wall Street [the "list of want-to-do's" is my phrase], his response (I can't call it an answer) was essentially a laundry list of expensive social programs, energy proposals, etc., that would involve the spending of more money—not, unfortunately, anything that could qualify as a serious reduction.

So he failed on this question, too: The correct answer was to subtract spending from the budget, not to add it.

McCain Goes to Washington; Obama...?

Sen. John McCain announced today that he is suspending his campaign so that he can go to Washington D.C. and help solve the current financial situation that has enveloped NYC and D.C. He has invited Sen. Obama to do the same, and he has asked that Friday's presidential debate be postponed.

This is a good decision by McCain for a couple of reasons.

1. He is, after all, drawing a salary to be a U.S. Senator; so in essence, he is going to his job! Therefore, it is the right thing to do.
   
2. Politically, it is a shrewd move. Sen. Obama really can't "win" in this scenario.

Senator Obama does not see any necessity to postponing the debate. But if he really wants a debate, I have a suggestion for the McCain campaign:

Send Sarah Palin to debate Obama.

So What if McCain Doesn't Write E-mail?

Sen. Barack Obama has come out with an ad that mocks Sen. John McCain because, among other things, he cannot use a computer.

So What? It's probably just as important as the fact that Barack can't bowl.

McCain-Palin: Wow!

I didn't think McCain would choose Romney, Huckabee, Ridge, or Lieberman—mainly because each of them would bring (real or perceived) negatives to the ticket—but politically speaking, he made a daring yet shrewd choice by choosing Sarah Palin as his running mate.

Her resume looks good; she seems to favor all the conservative causes. And although I despise mindless voting, many will vote for her simply because she has two X chromosomes. But here's my observation: This lady gives a great speech! I have never been a fan of Obama's speechmaking ability, which although above average, isn't on a caliber with great orators; but she could out-speechify Obama with ease!

This already makes the campaign much more interesting! (And now I can relax, knowing it's not going to be Romney, Ridge, or Lieberman!)

The Michigan GOP State Convention: Part 1

Today was the day of the Michigan state GOP Convention, held in Novi, near Detroit. My wife and I were both delegates, so we took along the four kids—and had a great time!

The primary business of the day (besides choosing electors to the electoral college, should McCain win our state; this was pretty much pro forma) was nominating people to the following positions to appear on the November ballot:

• Justice of the Supreme Court. Clifford Taylor, the current chief justice, is up for election this year and will be viciously attacked by the other party; conservative justices hold a 4-3 majority on this bench and he is the majority's leader. Michigan Republicans adore him. Every state should have supreme court justices like this man.
• Two positions on the state board of education. Three folks were running.
• Two positions on the MSU Board of Trustees. Scott Romney, elder brother of Mitt, is an incumbent; he and one other woman were the only ones in the running.
• Two positions on the Wayne State University Board of Governors. Only two folks were actively seeking this position.
• Two positions on the University of Michigan Board of Regents. There were three people actively running hard for these two spots.

The observant will notice that only two of these five listed positions were truly contested. But in every case (not to mention candidates for other offices that have already been chosen in primaries two weeks ago, such as soon-to-be-senator Jack Hoogendyk), stickers, signs, leaflets, and other goodies—including free doughnuts courtesy of Lisa Bouchard, who was the other candidate for MSU Trustee—were being handed out in a manner that even "generously" cannot properly describe. If you like the game-day-face-to-face-meet-and-greet nobody-knows-the-outcome-until-it's-over version of politics, you'd have loved to observe this! My children haven't gotten so much free stuff since Christmas.

As delegates, my wife and I were among those voting for the contested nominations. It is also a great time to meet folks, especially from your own district, who share your political views. I was especially proud of our county's largest delegation to a state convention in some time.

It was also a great opportunity to pick up materials to promote John McCain and others who are running for various offices; to purchase buttons, neckties, and other "stuff" that promotes the GOP; and to get a lot of talking points to share with your friends about "why you should vote for so-and-so for a board of governors on the other side of the state."

But I still left with one question on my mind: Why do we have three colleges with boards of trustees, governors, and regents? Why are they all differently named, yet chosen in the same manner?

Barack Obama: Why He Won't Win in November

So once Barack Obama finally clinches the nomination sometime this summer, the focus will be on him vs. John McCain. And frankly, I don't think he stands a chance.

[Note: I didn't think he stood a chance in the primaries. However, I am more sure this time around; and he has better competition.]

Here are the first several obvious reasons I can think of:

• His record is unmistakably liberal. Despite his rhetoric, he does not "reach across the aisle," and he has not changed much of anything. McCain, on the other hand [and to the consternation of myself and others] has done so.
• His religion is unmistakably off-target. Most Americans don't attend or trust churches whose pastor says the opposite of "God Bless America" from his pulpit. For that matter, they don't much trust Mormons either—just ask Mitt Romney.
• His skin is unmistakably not white. Americans are not going to elect a minority president until one comes along with far more to offer than Obama does.
  
• Remind me again—what has this man done while in the Senate?
  

Time To Face It: McCain Wins the GOP Nomination

He wasn't my choice. Not initally, anyway. But to compare him to Clinton and Obama is to believe that he is vastly superior to his remaining opposition. And he should win in November.

Earlier, I noted an article about The Five Stages of McCain. I think I have now reached the gray area between stages 3 and 4.

Go Republicans!

I'm Still Wondering What Stage I Am In!

OK...It looks like McCain is going to be the Republican nominee. He was not my first choice. He is still a hundred times better than either Obama or Hillary, of course, so he'll probably get my vote.

This brilliant little article was sent to me recently. I'm still wondering what stage I am in.

The Five Stages of McCain
By John Feehery
Saturday, February 9, 2008; 12:00 AM

As somebody who used to work for Tom DeLay and Denny Hastert, two politicians who have somewhat less than high regard for John McCain, I know something of the angst many conservatives are feeling towards our likely presidential nominee. Here, in a nutshell, are the five stages of coming to grips with the John McCain nomination.

The first stage is anger. As in: "I'll never vote for John McCain. He screwed us on campaign finance reform; he's a tool for George Soros. He screwed us on immigration; he supports amnesty. I don't trust him on taxes; he said Americans should sacrifice for the war on their tax bills. He's no conservative. I'll never vote for this guy. I'd rather vote for Hillary Clinton!"

After anger comes despair. "I can't believe that McCain is going to get the nomination. What happened? McCain is too old. Conservatives won't vote for him. We're doomed. I'm doomed!"

After despair comes confusion. "I can't stand McCain. But he's a war hero and authentic. Campaign finance was wrong. But he was right on the surge. He's bad on taxes. But he's good on spending. The base hates him. But independents can't get enough. And even Phil Gramm and Grover Norquist think he's okay."

After confusion comes acceptance. "Well, McCain is going to get the nomination. I guess I can live with it. He's a war hero, after all. He was right on the surge. And he plays well with independents. I know he's old, but look at his energy level -- I couldn't keep up with him. Let's face it: McCain will be our nominee. And Rush Limbaugh is going to have to get over it."

After acceptance comes excitement. "Hey, McCain is going to be great! We need a maverick running our party. Look at those poll numbers! He can beat Clinton! Imagine that. We're going to win! I think I'm going to give McCain some money. What a war hero he is! Seventy-one is the new 61! Let's go! Mac is back! Would somebody tell Limbaugh to shut up?"

Whatever happened to John McCain?

Last week a number of media reports surfaced indicating that Senator John McCain, Republican candidate for president in 2008, has been having difficulty raising/keeping money and has dismissed ("parted ways"?) a number of campaign staff. This had led the piranha-minded media to speculate that his candidacy is on the verge of death, although the McCain campaign strongly denies this. So this begs the question: What happened to the McCain campaign, that it finds itself in this position? I offer a few observations....

It has nothing to do with his age. Much Americans have no idea how old he is.

First of all, he has already long ago alienated the right-wing of the Republican party. They remember that in 2000 he ran as a moderate, slamming George Bush a bit too viciously...and now they're aghast that he is trying to portray himself as the second coming of Ronald Reagan...which he isn't.

And, he alienated the left-wing of the Republican party with his strong support of the president's stand on the Iraq war. Personally, I think he should be commended for this. The lesson remains, though: They who take strong stands on controversial issues will displease some people. Those who don't take strong stands should not be president.

Then, of course, he alienated nearly every intelligent member of the Republican party (not currently in Congress) by being a big supporter of the ludicrous immigration bill which—hallelujah!—died a proper death in the Senate a few weeks ago. I don't claim to know why he supported it; I would certainly think that a senator from a state overrun with illegal immigrants would have instead supported far more reasonable legislation.

Could it be, that in attempting to read the political winds, he miscalculated? Could it be, that by hiring scads of political consultants months ago, he spent too much time "positioning" himself and too little time taking the stands that republicans want their president to take? Or that he lost touch with the electorate? There are lessons here; and the good news for other republican presidential candidates is that there is still plenty of time to learn them.