The End of the Presidential Season

The longest presidential election cycle in history comes to a finish tomorrow. Over two years now (what an absurd realization that is) and we have come to the single day that all off the time, money, and effort was focused upon. Election Day 2008. No doubt it has been an historic election in so many ways. And while I have been a cynic for most of my adult life when it comes to politics, the ‘American way’, and unfettered patriotism in a post-9/11 world, I will walk away from the poll tomorrow with a hope that better days for our country are indeed possible.

I am a proud supporter of Barack Obama. Several months ago, that's not something I would have easily said aloud. Coming from a family devoid of political conscience, I've always felt uncomfortable talking about politics - it has been a foreign land in many ways. (If I'm honest, I still get a little nervous when a group of people start chanting a politicians name. I have an Obama car magnet, but refuse to put it on) And as I've followed (endured?) the election process since November of last year, I've learned a lot about a wide variety of issues, about the candidates themselves, but most importantly I've learned a lot about myself and how the world I interact with everyday operates.

From the very beginning, this has been an election that is in some ways, though certainly not all, should be applauded. The diversity of candidates who ran for the highest office in the land speaks to the growth of our nation’s character. There have always been fringe candidates, and there will always be a handful (or two) of folks who run without regard to the possibility of winning. You can always expect a war-hero to run: John McCain. And certainly, you’ll have the perennial third-party candidate: Ralph Nader. But looking deeper and further, there were legitimate candidates representing a wide swath of American society never considered at this level before. A woman: Hillary Clinton. An Hispanic-American: Bill Richardson. An African-American: Barack Obama. A Mormon: Mitt-Romney. It’s not diversity for the sake of diversity. This cadre of candidates represents leaders from across our country. It speaks to the character of our country and that is worth being proud of.

As for the state of our nation, these are increasingly difficult times we are living in. No, we aren’t growing victory gardens or recycling aluminum foil to build bombs in order to fend of Nazi’s or standing in bread lines to feed our families. But it has become clear that our way of living and our stance in the world, both of these, are going to require substantial changes. Economic turmoil, housing crises, two wars, global warming due largely in part to our over-and-disproportionate use of oil, spending more than we make: These things, among others, have brought us to a place of brokenness as a society (whether that has been readily acknowledged is something entirely). And so it is in times like these that we realize we cannot have the mentality of consume, consume, consume. We cannot simply put our heads down and tough it out. These are the times when we need great leaders emerge, for people to lift themselves up by the bootstraps, times where great change is effected and we as a nation can emerge united, understanding that we are all in this together. FDR brought that change. JFK had the vision of that change. And I think we have come to a place where, again, we must be inspired to live beyond complacency, to live beyond comfort.

A great leader will be necessary to bring this about. And I can understand the desire to see John McCain as the next President. He has experience in Washington, he has a military mind, and he has sacrificed much for this country. I certainly think he would be a competent leader. He is capable. I happen to disagree with him on a number of issues and everyone is certainly entitled to such a stance. Let's not miss the forest for the trees though. He may certainly become President and do no great harm to office and walk-us through a challenging time in our history. But I sincerely believe that it will take more than competence, that it will take more than a decades-long personal history in the halls of government.

I, like so many others, have been inspired and lead to believe that Barack Obama can do just what we all hope for. (Yes, I’m drinking the cool-aid). Inspiration isn’t everything. Lofty words and suave speeches won’t fix a problem. But someone who has a fundamental understanding that we are all in this together, that the answers to unifying a globalized world isn't through bullish decisiveness and stick-to-it-iveness that boarders on belligerent defiance. Barack Obama seems to understand that personal choice and responsibility is just as important as government policy. Top down change won't last and won't be effective. When Obama suggested that keeping your tires properly inflated as a way of energy conservation and a way to decrease the demand for foreign oil, McCain and so many others mocked him. The answer from so many others has continued to be, "Drill, Baby, Drill!" As if a reiteration of G.W. Bush's encouragement to go shopping after 9/11, McCain leads half the country in thinking the way to fix our energy problems is to increase the supply of what is raping our wallets and drastically changing the environment as we sit idly by.

We live in a broken world. It is full of problems and they seem to be multiplying by the day. And I don't presume to think that a President Obama will solve all of our problems, that he will fulfill every campaign promise, or even most of them for that matter. Candidates, almost by definition, promise things they can't control. Presidents can influence more than they can control. And I believe that a President Obama will influence Americans, he will call upon us all to step up and make a difference, to be responsible, to sacrifice, to embrace the needs of the country over the wants of our comfort and greed. I now understand that if you want to see a better world, to see a better country, to see a better home, then you must do your own part. Be the change you want to see in the world. I now understand that because I've sought out leadership from our candidates and found inspiration, hope, vision, and determination in Barack Obama. As I often say, it is far more important to wrestle and struggle through the issues of a campaign or life than it is to just vote in order that we each become more understanding in how our world works and where exactly we fit into that picture.

One final, personal anecdote about Barack Obama. When he came to Muncie in April, I had the opportunity to ask him a question during the town hall meeting. And while it was certainly worded poorly (like a fan-club question), I essentially asked how those of us who are new to politics can have the confidence to go and talk to others about the Obama campaign. At first he flirted around the question, but came back to it and summarized nicely, saying, "Don't try to sell me. Sell them on the process, to get involved and be part of the discussion and debate." It probably means more to me since it seems like such a softball question and generic answer. But he spoke to me and met me where I was - get people involved, not through an issue or a party, but in the process. If he is elected, I'll be able to tell my son someday that I talked with a President and even followed it up with a handshake afterward.

In the face of daunting odds, defeating the incumbent political family of the Democratic Party, enduring the fomenting xenophobia and baseless character smears, Barack Obama still believes in the fundamental ability of a nation, of its people, to rise above trying times, to shed the culture of divisiveness, and to look inward for strength to face the challenges ahead. Tomorrow, I am going to vote for Barack Obama. And if it does turn out that he wins the Presidency, it will be one of the greatest days in our nation's history. Being a student of history, I don't take statements like that lightly; I'm not saying it for effect. To elect an African-American man to lead our Nation, a black man raised by his white mother and grandparents, absent from his father who came from Africa, that will be undeniably historic. We have come a long way in the last 230-some years. Or even just the last forty. That alone is not reason enough to vote for him, but it will certainly be the biggest and brightest footnote to the beginning of a new era in American history. I gladly, and hopefully, welcome such a new era.

On Taxes, Socialism, and Word Choice

Here we sit merely two weeks away from Election Day. We've all grown weary of the ads, the debates, the spin. And I've not commented much lately as to how I've perceived things (not that anyone has been waiting with baited breathe).

In short, I think the debates have been largely uninteresting. I think both campaigns have made mistakes and both have gone negative. I do think McCain has gone more negative (and insidiously so), and by that I mean, making flatly untrue statements, trying to detract from legitimate debate, and cultivating fear and anger by playing on the xenophobic and narrow-minded ignorance of some Americans. I've a bevy of views and thoughts on everything from Palin to robo-calls to Bill Ayers. But today, I'll focus on economics (something I don't claim to have an mastery knowledge of).

The most recent stratagem the McCain-Palin ticket has employed is to suggest the notion, directly and indirectly, that Obama is "experimenting with socialism." Sunday, McCain went so far as to suggest Obama was a cover socialist, drawing a comparison that "at least in Europe, the socialist leaders who so admire my opponent are upfront about their objectives." Three things:

First, most Americans cannot define socialism. Before 9/11, that was probably the "scariest" word in the American lexicon, with much thanks to Joe McCarthy and the "red scare." Now it competes with "terrorist" or, regrettably, "muslim." The Republicans are deliberately choosing to play on this fear, a fear most don't know the roots of and a fear that too many are willing to buy into. I'd like to survey people and figure out what they really think socialism is; they won't know, I am certain. As my mother use to say (I'm so folksy), "Don't use a word you can't define."

Second, the jumping off point for Repubs to paint Obama red is from his conversation with the now-famous "Joe the Plumber." Here is Obama's direct quote: "Right now, everybody's so pinched that business is bad for everybody. And I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody." (emphasis mine). They are apt to say that the Obama-Biden plan is to take money from everyone and spend it as they see fit. It simply isn't that way, though. I think it is, at most, a poor choice of words (beside the point, the definition of taxes is that we give government, elect officials, and ask them to decide on our behalf how to spend it).

The idea isn't that Obama wants Americans to have an equal distribution of wealth, that all should have the same amount of money and equal lifestyles. He isn't penalizing anyone for being successful. Instead, he should have said that when you spread the economic responsibility to support government around, that is good for everybody. Because the emphasis, again, isn't to equalize wealth, but to make sure everyone is doing their part, financially (more on this in the next point). The goal is to have a fair and just tax system. And as Obama has pointed out, if you want to talk about redistirbution, the "Trickle Down Effect" was a type of wealth redistribution, the theory going that if you give tax breaks and incentives to big business and the wealthy (make the rich...richer), the effect will be economic prosperity, i.e. wealth, trickling down.

Thirdly, no one speaks better on the issue of needing to equalize the responsibility of taxes than the richest man in the world, Warren Buffett. When he says the rich should be taxed more, then I think we should all listen. He has famously talked for several years now regarding the fact that he roughly pays an 18% income tax and the average administrative employee in his office pays almost double, at 33%. He bet anyone on the Forbes 400 ($1 million to a charity) that they would find themselves in the same situation. No one has taken him up on that yet. Here is a link to a great interview with Tom Brokaw detailing all of this. And as he says, he doesnt' have an accountant or special loop-holes. All he does is pay according to what the IRS tells him to. And quippy as always, "I guess I do have a tax planner. His name is President Bush." The rich get richer, the poor.....Here are a few articles that are on Buffet and class warfare.

In Class Warfare, Guess Which Class is Winning?

Warren Buffett on the Bailout and Taxes

Taxes and Paying my Fair Share

Obama doesn't want to equalize wealth, redistribute it or in turn move us into a socialist state. He wants to set right a system that heavily favors those that have moved beyond the point of needing favor. That's why he wants tax credits for childcare expenses, a tax credit for college students who serve their country and community (it's not a handout), and numerous other initiatives aimed at balancing the economic strain and increasing the opportunity for everyone, regardless of their tax bracket, to live a decent life. The alternative is maintaining the status quo, allowing the top 10% to continue to pay half-as-much in taxes as you and me.

And I think it serves as good evidence socialism isn't the goal (or even a thought) when one of the most successful capitalists ever (Buffett), a four-star general and former Secretary of State (Colin Powell), and uber-conservative Christopher Buckley have all endorsed him.

If you want to argue any of this with me, you've got to start by defining socialism. And it can't start with "redistribution of wealth" because that is a crap answer.