Descending the Ladder of Presidential Competency

Senator John McCain at the Republican Convention

McCAIN'S TOWNHALL BOMB

Is it just me or when John McCain spoke at his "townhall" event last night, did most audience members look like they were silently trying to pass kidney stones? McCain gave a substantive analysis of the situation in Iraq but then he veered dreadfully off course once he turned to other matters.

On the rise in energy costs:

"I believe there needs to be a thorough and complete investigation of speculators to find out whether speculation has been going on and, if so, how much it has affected the price of a barrel of oil," McCain said. Hello! It's called commodities trading, it exists, and it's a vital part of the market economy.

On the oil industry itself:

"I am very angry, frankly, at the oil companies not only because of the obscene profits they've made but at their failure to invest in alternate energy to help us eliminate our dependence on foreign oil ... They're making huge profits and that happens, but not to say, 'We're in this so we can over time eliminate America's dependence on foreign oil,' I think is an abrogation of their responsibilities as citizens."

For the record, Big Oil's profit margin has averaged 8.1% over the last five years. Meanwhile, beverage makers -- the industry to which he and his wife owe their fortune -- average 19% margins.

McCain spent what could have been hours -- I blacked out after the first fifteen minutes -- reeling off the names of Democrats he's had high-profile love affairs with over the years. Lieberman, Kennedy, Feingold, it just kept going and going and going. He talked about the good old days when Ronald Reagan held Tip O'Neill's hand and together they they raised Social Security taxes. He hopes to do something similar with Nancy Pelosi.

If I were advising Obama, after seeing last night I would agree to as many townhalls as McCain wants.

Comments are welcome at redstatepatriot@hughes.net. Please include the title of the article as your subject line. Selected responses, in whole or part, may be published (appended to the article).

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Response from David R.:
Waves of nausea overwhelm me. Is there anything I can take to alleviate the feeling of impending doom? I feel like our choice is between Lydon Johnson, and Lyndon LaRouche.

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Response from Ken D.
This man is senescent, ill advised or both.

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Response from Fritz B.
I have been of the opinion that he is taking some of these positions regarding big oil, global warming and hugging democrats as a campaign strategy. If both candidates look a lot alike on voters key issues, then only the war and taxes separate them. For me I would want him in office to veto tax increases or we will become the leading socialist country overnight with Obama and Pelosi. The next 10 years are going to be very tough. I would prefer that we plow into the energy problem rather than sit around Washington and blame big oil.

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Response from Denny S:
FYI: Conservatives are a rare breed in the San Francisco Bay Area. My friend that sent this photo is from Napa, where (at last count) there were 80 possible and 41 confirmed conservatives out of 150,000 people.

Also, this election is not about McCain, it is about Obama mama, as the country still does not know what Obama Hussein is all about. I think that some Democrats will get uncomfortable with Obama after more is known about the guy. But, liberals will vote for Obama no matter what.

Seems like the last election. We are either voting against someone, or voting for the lessor of two evils.

Where are the "energy policy" politicians, when we need them? We have not had "energy policy" for 30 years. The last nuclear plant was built in 1978, and goodness knows when the last refinery was built in the US?

Speaking of that, McCain needs to go to economic and oil school. This country desperately needs to start drilling on both coasts, in Alaska, and start building some nuclear plants while we learn how to switch over to other alternative energies. The Sun (solar) and Hydrogen are the obvious bets, but those energies won't be feasible for decades.

Comments are welcome at redstatepatriot@hughes.net. Please include the title of the article as your subject line. Selected responses, in whole or part, may be published (appended to the article).

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Response from Bob H.:
We have always had an energy policy. Simple—CHEAP ENERGY. As for drilling and building nukes and refineries, the lead time runs from 7 to 20 years. Good luck thinking we could be energy independent any time in our children’s’ lifetimes.

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Response from Marty D.:
Aside from McCain's obvious inclinations, John McCain is now irrevocably on record favoring ever-increasing government control of the nation's economy. Maybe the most significant revelation in John McCain's townhall rhetoric was confirmation of his profound economic ignorance and dangerous socialist propensities - probably explaining much of the last 20 years of McCain's ill-advised legislation in Congress (which effectively reduced the U.S. Constitution to the status of toilet tissue). Clearly we're witnessing a descending ladder of presidential competency .... Reagan (40), Bush (41), Clinton (42), Bush (43), and in the vernacular, WTF (44).

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Response from Pam T.:
I am packing up and moving to Pakistan.... or some island somewhere.

Posted June 14, 2008 02:41 PM
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