MoveOn.org has fired the first shots at the presumptive Republican candidate by running anti-McCain ads. The adds have quotes from both Senator McCain and President George Bush and are designed to get voters thinking about the election of Senator McCain as an extension of the troubled Bush presidency.
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Senator McCain is in a catch twenty-two. He has gotten in trouble every time he has spoken publicly, but while he has been laying low waiting for the destruction of the Democratic Party (which seems eminent) he has been a sitting duck for an ambush such as this one.
It is amazing to watch the greatest opportunity he could have ever had slip out of his hands like this. I mean while the Democratic candidates are absolutely destroying each other, what better time to get into the public eye and be the one above the fray. Talk about missing an opportunity.
Now the battle has begun with an ambush and Senator McCain is going to start on the defensive.
Senator McCain is going to have to get into the public and start doing something noticeable pretty soon before the Democratic party begins the reconstruction process after the Democralypse or he will go down as one of the biggest losers ever.
A rolling stone gathers no moss and a stagnant candidate gathers no votes!
During the first quarter of this year the economy grew a whopping .6% (of course I am being facetious and that is incredibly small growth) which means that technically we are not in a “recession” as a nation. Wow! What great news! What is the word that describes a state where that is true and the economy is still miserable?
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As far as economists are concerned a “recession” is when the GDP (Gross Domestic Profit) or economic growth decline for two consecutive months. If this is sustained for a long period of time then this is considered a “depression.”
As far as the general populous is concerned, a “recession” is when the overall economy is bad for any period of time and a “depression” is when this is the case for a prolonged period of time.
The real issue at hand here is that because the general public and the government are speaking in different languages (really just using the same words but differing definitions) the fact that government officials are insisting on making it clear that there is not a recession serves only to aggravate the situation. The impression that the general populous receives is that the government has no idea what the people are going through.
By design, the indicators used to determine if the nation is in a recession or not are can only make that determination after the problem has been sustained for a quarter of the year. If you look at this in terms of the current “downturn” or whatever it is properly designated, this indicator could say there is no real problem and common sense would say otherwise.
This indicator is a good indicator for government insiders and economists but is a terrible indicator for the general public. Also the word “downturn” is almost an offensive term as it seems to minimize the challenges of the people of the nation. It sounds so much like “this is a bump in the road,” which is a terrible irritant if you have just paid for dollars a gallon for gas, you are about to loose your home and join several of those who have lost their homes in your neighborhood, and your local grocery store is rationing rice etc.
To me, this terminology says: “We understand that large percentage of you are suffering terribly, but overall at least half of the population will be able to bounce back sooner or later.”
This is a great outlook if you look only at numbers and what the end result is, but as soon as one looks at the people involved with any level of compassion this is not okay.
I personally did not vote for politicians to simply balance books, I vote because I want people in office that care about my family and that American people. Using the existing indicators that are used by our government to determine if and when a response is necessary to save our economy creates a situation where our government is terribly late in being reactive and not at all proactive.
The current system takes a bad situation, and tells the world that the government is out of touch with the American People which can only serve to lose the consumer confidence and make the situation go from bad to worse. Then, months and possibly years later, when the current indicators finally determine that the problem has been sustained long enough to warrant a response, the sudden response and media blitz creates a certain sense of panic and again aggravates the situation.
Clearly the current indicators only work in a limited capacity and something else is needed. Maybe there should be an indicator that tells us when an indicator is not helpful or does not do enough. What happens when an indicator repeatedly indicates too late?
For example, imagine a jet that had radar and electronics that could only sense other aircraft in the air after they had collided and could not show you the other aircraft prior to contact. Wouldn’t the pilot be better off looking out the windows of the plane rather than relying upon this indicator? This is basically how the current system works. Our government would be better off just looking out of their windows and ignoring these indicators.
What can we do to change this?
I propose that there should be some kind of “Economic Pain and Suffering Index” that measures how much of the population is actually having a tough time making ends meet.
Something of this nature would indicate trends and possible turns in the economy early enough that preventative measures could be taken prior to there being undue stress upon the people and the nation as a whole and would clearly show that the government is not as out of touch with the American People.
The Reverend (I use the term against my better judgment) Jeremiah Right cannot really expect anyone of any sense to take him seriously after this week. I have been pondering the events of the past week and cannot imagine this man to believe that he is somehow a representative of God any more than people who crash airplanes into buildings.
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As this weekends events progressed, the media blitz undertaken by Mr. Jeremiah Right (I will not be using the titles Reverend or Pastor from this point on) were clearly a sign of self-serving as opposed to service to the God represented in the Bible.
His message (other than to express the fact he is bitter with Senator Barack Obama, the Caucasian race, and America as a whole) is on that only represents a certain culture. By culture, I am not speaking of African Americans, I am speaking of a subculture of this people group or a particular segment of that group. Although he may find himself surrounded by this subculture where he resides and may be able to find pockets of these individuals littered here and there throughout the country, this is definitely not a representation of the views of African Americans throughout the nation or the “African American Church”; whatever that is.
I find it quite presumptuous to assume that because you are around several churches like this and have been to some in other places that all or most of predominantly African American churches hold these beliefs or conform to his stereotypes of how a church would act.
It is coming clear over the past couple of days that there are people who have had contact with this man recently who feel that his motive for all of this was revenge on Senator Barack Obama.
I applaud Sen. Obama’s loyalty but also have to question his judgment in knowing when a person is not the type of person you need feeding into your life. I do believe that he probably did not hear the particular sermons that were repeated over and over on the television as the church is in one state and the senator works in another. That being the case, he probably was not the most regular of attendees at church on Sundays. The problem is that this person can flip out like this and in almost twenty years in a close relationship you do not notice.
Mr. Wright has publicly embarrassed a person who stood by him despite the fact that it could ruin his career, much (if not most) of the African American race and those of mixed racial makeup, and many believers in the Christ who now have to spend time again trying to explain that Christians are not all crazy simply because one who is crazy has gotten a lot of air time.
Mr. Wright had the nerve to disguise his evil intention of attacking the man that he previously felt God had called him to mentor as a call for unity and a message of God. This is one of the most egregious acts ever performed.
I am still undecided about any of the three candidates I feel we are stuck with, but I think the nation as a whole has an obligation to take action against this man. People should not give airtime to this man. He is getting a lot of press and getting ready to release a book soon which means a lot of people want to read it simply to see what this crazy man has to say. Resist the urge and don’t buy a copy! Wait until you can find it in a thrift store. Do not support this man and his message of spite by giving him your money. If a station or group gives him airtime, send a letter or email expressing your disgust.
I have personally decided to stop using the title “reverend” for this man as I consider that to be a show of respect for a person and I do not find him worthy of that sort of respect.
Finally, if you are a believer, who believes in what he has done this week, look at James 4:6 which states in part that “…God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.” This weekend’s events were clearly about hurt pride and a selfish attempt to hurt an individual that God put under his mentoring wing. African American, Caucasian, Chinese, or otherwise, this is not acceptable to the God of the Bible. If the underlying motivation of a message is evil, the entire message is usually tainted with evil and cannot be trusted.
Mr. Wright may hit on a truth here and there, but even a broken clock is right twice a day.
