McCain – Bloomberg Ticket

If Obama-Hillary or Hillary-Obama ticket was considered a dream ticket at one time for the Democrats, I believe if Senator McCain really wanted to bring it on to Senator Obama he would pick the New York mayor as his running mate. I don’t think any republican ticket would have more appeal to independents, moderate Republicans and Democrats as these two.

Mayor Bloomberg brings decades of experience running a very successful business and that experience would go a long way in burnishing McCain’s credentials on economy. You would have two independently viable candidates with vast experience in economy and foreign policy

I think that would be something to get excited about.

Obama or McCain…Obama or McCain… Obama or McCain

For the Clinton supporters who have just seen their candidate vanquished in the primaries and are still licking their wounds and nursing their pride their are very few choices on the horizon.I liked all three candidates, I would have voted for any one of them any day. I finally decided to take the plunge aound Feburary and back Senator Clinton, and since then differences between Obama and Hillary have become increasingly glaring. She was much more experienced and brings so much more to the table then the other guy. If my reason for supporting Clinton were that she had much more experience I don’t think my reason should change now that she is no longer in the picture.

Which brings me to title of this blog I am trying to decide who between the two of them will do less damage to the country. My take on this so far is if McCain wins in 2008, given his age Clinton would be able to mount a good campaign in 2012 against him even if he is the incumbent. If Obama wins, he would have to be really good President, I mean better then JFK (given the current situation) for him to be able to run for a second term unchallenged within the Democratic Party. No average, can not do this time. I tend to believe that while democracy may suck it is the best form of government out there and their is no such thing as Utopia like Senator Obama would like us to believe. You need some of the the things that the people are criticising today, for government to function, to have a proper debate about issues and policies.

Here is my list of issues with the Obama campaign -

Lobbyists – Nothing has brought more shame to this profession then the likes of Jack Abramoff’s, Duke Cunnigham’s, but we would be naive to think that Washington could function without lobbyists. Lobbyists are an absolute necessity for the government to function as they provide a view(no matter how lopsided) into the functioning of a business. Businesses need lobbyist to explain to politicians how business works and vice versa. In their zeal to rid themselves of lobbyist both Obama and McCain are falling over each other to see who can get rid of the most, where anybody and everybody is being painted with the same brush and frankly it is starting to concern me.Everybody in Washington is a lobbyist at some time or the other. If you are a politician worth you mettle and have a cause you believe in you should become a lobbyist after you come out of politics in order to further that casue. Now I am not that naive to believe that all these people are saints but are n’t we getting carried away a little.You and I could be painted a lobbyist if we worked for the federal government and the private sector. This alone should not preclude one from working for any administration. It is getting to the point of being ridiculous where are lot of good people are being kicked out of their positions. I want smart people running the country not necessarily the untainted ones.

So for Senator Obama to make lobbyist a political issue gives me pause for two reasons – if we get rid of all the lobbyist we get rid of a lot of smart people and, if we don’t, and, let them play a role then the Senator is being disingenuous by making this a political issue while at the same time claiming to be above politics.

Inspiration – That is one word I am starting to get so tired off, if I hear it again I swear I will decide not to vote. No doubt Senator Obama is inspiring a lot of people, question is inspiring them to do what?? Never thought I would say this in my lifetime – a lot of his supporters are far left wing people who call themselves progressive and open minded yet refuse to listen to reason or have an amicable discussion. I couldn’t believe the kind of ridicule and hatred they spewed on Clinton supporter’s during the campaign. They believe that if you yell loud enough and drown out the other voices you would be somehow right. I am starting to believe if Obama wins, the next four years would bring an administration full of left wing ideologues and it may not be any different from the current one which also has a vast majority of ideologues. It stands to reason that the very loud small minority of the democratic party which with the help of the media refused to let Clinton make her case for the nomination would not allow any kind of sane reasonable discussions on any other issues before this country unless it is meshes with their agenda. In the same manner is which the right wing of the republican party made it impossible for any kind of reform on immigration policies I don’t believe the left would be any different. A vast majority of the independents is about to get shafted again.

Leadership: A lot of people have put forth their case comparing Obama to JFK and MLK, the case made ever so strongly by Caroline Kennedy and Ted Kennedy drawing the comparison themselves. With no small amount of trepidation in my heart I say the reason Kennedy has been so immortalised in history is because he lived for such a short time. Had Kennedy lived to finish his presidency and beyond I am not sure the world would be holding him in such high regard. While no doubt a great President, Kennedy also had a lot more experience in politics and government (6 yrs in House and 7 yrs in the Senate) as well as military career before he decided to run for President. Senator Obama doesn’t even come close. He is a great orator and speech writer but that is not the sole qualification for the job he is applying for.

A lot of people have tried to make a case by comparing how the military selects officers based on a certain criteria which they say Obama meets but here is my problem with that argument, yes Obama has a lot of leadership skills but is having a skill set only enough? The military does not select the officer based on the leadership skills displayed during the interview and put him in charge of 5000 men right away. Have we forgotten the time spent at West Point and process of promotions. This guy wants to run the country, no where else on this planet have I seen any country elect the most powerful person just on a prayer and a hope. I am honestly afraid for my future.

For those asking why I don’t hold Senator McCain to same standard – I have McCain’s career history to look at, in order to make my own decision, not so in Obama’s case.

Given all of the above points I am seriously considering if I would vote for Obama or McCain. My best case scenario is vote McCain at the top of the ticket and Democrat at the bottom. This will ensure that while we may have Republican president we will have a Democratic congress in order to ensure proper checks and balances.

Now if McCain really wanted to clinch my vote he would chose Bloomberg as his running mate.

 

 

Supreme Court backs rights for Gitmo Detainees

By now you have probably heard that the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Gitmo detainees for the third time making way for them to challenge their detentions. Leaving aside the morality and the legality of ones position what I want to know is who on earth is the one advising this administrations regarding the legality of their positions and do they still hold their jobs. Any other place if you gave your boss the incorrect information or advise that caused your employer to look bad you would not only be fired on the spot but would most likely be hunted out of the industry so fast that you would be unemployable to for the rest of you life where as in this case I can name a few who not only left the adminsitration but also found jobs afterwards despite their fiascos.

As for the prople still in the administration I fail to understand how these people’s mind works, do they just wake up every morning and dream up different ways to embarrass George W Bush. I have by no means the slightest bit of sympathy for this administration but even I am starting to feel sorry for the guy. Every day he is humiliated in public by one or the other gaffes of his subordinates. It seems former employees are lurking in dark corners waiting to stick a dagger in his back. It is bad enough having to live with the specter of being relegated in history books as one of the worst administrations America had, but to be humiliated every day in the media makes me even feel sorry for the guy. So much so the guy has even started expressing regrets for things he did in the past

I don’t think this is what he wanted to become President for and if I were the media I did be careful not to push too far in case he decided to go ballistic and say you ain’t seen nothing yet and decide to invade Iran just to mess everything up for everybody.