Presidential Campaign

I'm still watching. On the Republican side, I was sort of hoping McCain would pick Romney for his running mate, but there were certainly a number of indicators that he might not. I'm not too disappointed. He could have done a lot worst than Sarah Palin. A lot worse..I was afraid that if he had chosen someone obviously pro-choice, I couldn't vote for the candidate of either party.

On the Democratic side, I mentioned my impressons at the beginning of the month. I haven't paid much attention to Senator Biden, but from what little I've heard, his selection as Obama's running mate does not improve my impression of Obama.

The campaign's treatment of Stanley Kurz, a journalist who has been investigating Obama's possible connections with Bill Ayers, a former member of the Weather Underground is a distinct black mark. If I had ever been inclined to favor Obama, this would give me serious pause.

I was ten years old in 1968, when organizations such as the Weather Underground, the SDS, the Black Panthers, and others were advocating violent overthrow of the US government, planting bombs, and the like, and a couple of years later I had a teacher who made sure I heard about it.

The things I read about Bill Ayers, one of the founders of this group, suggest that he has changed tactics, not ideologies, going in for indoctrination of the young as more effective than bombings. If he were one of Obama's mentors or associates, I am an concerned that he may have absorbed some of Ayer's ideology. This is very much not what I want in the Presidency.

The attempt to shut down or shout down critics is also worrisome. This is not someone I want anywhere near a position of authority over the US Military, Department of Homeland Security, or the Department of Justice, with the full power of the government to bring to bear against his critics.

Obama not for President

I've been somewhat following the Presidential campaign, or rather, the discussion of it. First, I admit, there is a certain amount of partisan bias: I've been more or less conservative ever since I was old enough to start reading about politics, back when I was twelve or so. I'm not and have never been particularly enthusiastic about John McCain. However, I shuddered with horror about Hillary Clinton getting into the White House. The only reason I'm not more concerned about Barak Obama is that he strikes me as a lightweight who's already on the verge of self-destructing. It is becoming increasingly evident that that that he has an inflated reputation and opinion of himself without the experience, brains, or backbone to justify it.