Political things: McCain proves daily he lacks the capacity.

I said that this blog would be about politics and telescope making, but I haven't done much about the former. So, here goes.

In the evening this past week, of course it was the Democratic Party National Convention on TV. We spent the final night down at the "Thinking Man's Tavern" with the Drinking Liberally crowd. It was an exceptional time and I am really motivated now to go out and campaign for Obama-Biden.
I don't think the Republicans will be able to match it. In fact, I think they are going to fissle out because of Hurricane Gustov. Bad luck there. Just remember, it wasn't our idea to pray for rain for their convention. But while God may not fiddle around with our petty conventions, we do.
With McCain's pick for VP, I'm simply amused and almost embarrassed. There are plenty of people that don't have the credentials to be President in the Republican Party. But to pick the one that has no credentials? Good grief! Imagine Biden and her in a debate? He would loose simply because everyone would feel sorry for her. If I were Biden I would refuse to debate her. Not the same league. Not even the same game.
McCain could die. He may get cancer again, or a heart attack, or meet up with some nut job or have a bad case of the flu and not pull through. He knows this and he picks some cute gal from Alaska.
He sure likes the cute gals though, doesn't he? His first wife was a divorced swimsuit model but got injured in a car crash so he dumped her. Then there is Cindy with the looks (once upon a time) and money (and drug habit and thievery of them in recent memory). Now it's Sarah who still has the looks and is being investigated for abuse of power by the FBI who McCain has designated as his stand-in should he be deemed unfit. He sure has a knack for picking good looking but flawed women. But that's ok, he was in a prison camp, they all did that (not!). Remember Stockdale, Ross Perot's VP pick? He was in the same camp. He was a hero. He never used it as an excuse. James Risner was in the same camp. He was a hero of Vietnam and Korea. He never did crap like that. But while some of these guys were qualified to be President, being a POW is not what made them qualified. McCain who is certainly qualified and has the credentials is that way, not because of being a POW, but despite it.

This guy isn't a maverick, he is a wannabe playboy that happened to do a heroic job as a prisoner by helping his fellows there. He made a noble decision that I am not sure I could make, staying in a Hanoi prison when offered early release, and he chose not to. That shows he has character, but it alone does not qualify him to be president.

If he were a maverick, then Biden would have to debate a worthy opponent. He could have picked the governor of a real state like Romney or even that party traitor Lieberman from Connecticut like he wanted to. But he did what the party hacks told him to do - maverick no more. Just more of the same.

Ask yourself... Hell, ask "the google" -- "What has McCain accomplished in his 19 years as a senator"
-- Tried to rein in the tobacco industry. big success there eh?
-- Campaign Reform- yeah right. McCain/Finegold was a rousing success.
-- Limited big corporations liability due to Y2K software bugs. Remember y2k? Wow that was bad. I fell for it too. plenty of old canned corn in the crawl space.
-- He won the Line Item Veto battle at last! Struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional. Oops. Republican Senator Arlen Spector of PA and head of the Senate Judiciary Committee once said McCain just has other interests than law. Yet, he's a senator, whose job it is to pass.... gas? no, "laws". And as POTUS it will be his job to enforce "laws". I would think that he might be somehow interested in the subject and know something about it, but appearently he knows about as much about the law as he does about economics.
-- McCain led the fight to strictly limit gifts to senators and their staffs and to cut back on junkets paid for by special-interest groups. Thats nice. It appears he is still in the pocket of washington lobbyists despite the ban though. A real 22 year insider he is, not that he has done much with it. That's leadership for you.
-- In 1997, he brokered a deal between the networks and family groups to establish a voluntary TV ratings system. Does anyone care any more? Did it actually do anything? Did people change their viewing habits because of it? It was specifically designed to be used with the V-Chip, which was mandated to be built into all television sets manufactured since 2000, but the guidelines themselves have no legal force, and does not apply to news or sports programming (like WWF although they use it).
-- Last year, McCain co-sponsored a bill by Sununu of NH, the Internet Tax Freedom Act, John Conyers sponsored it in the House where it was opposed by 2 people. The Senate hasn't voted on it. That's leadership eh?
-- Back in 2000 after he dropped out of the race back then, he passed some legislation for Boxing reform. Is that violent sport still around? oh my. I guess that's leadership... for a minor niche industry. Good work John!

Reagan or FDR -- They inspire, they are visionaries that show us what we can do. LBJ or Eisenhower they know how things work in government. They are mechanics. They steer millions of people to do great things.

McCain is not a dreamer. He doesn't motivate people to action and make things work. He is a survivor -- only a survivor. He survived a horrible prison camp with its torture. He kept his head above water in the Senate for 26 years.

But lots of people merely survive. but that doesn't make you a hero. Lots of people are heros. But that doesn't qualify them to be decent President.

The world and America needs to do more than survive the next four years, we need to transform ourselves into what we will be for the next 100 years.

McCain lacks the capacity.

Obama has it. Now in this time and place. And we will grow and transform ourselves and our world.