Whats with McCain????

I have tremendous regard for John McCain's service to the nation and his tragic past as a Vietnamese prisoner of war. With that being said, is McCain a viable presidential candidate? In light of the events over the past few years, and more specifically, the past month, the answer is a resounding no.

Between 2000 and 2004, McCain gained popularity as a maverick figure in the GOP, standing by his beliefs rather than towing the party line. However, according to Wikipedia - "McCain's voting record in the 109th congress was the third most conservative among senators".

It is no coincidence that McCain's pandering to the GOP's ultra conservative base coincides with the rise of his presidential ambitions. The desire for the office of the presidency is understandable, but the complete lack of conscience makes McCain's campaign practically unforgivable. McCain jumped at the first opportunity to take cheapshots at a fellow vietnam hero John Kerry, by criticizing his "botched joke" about the troops just before the 2007 midterms. However, when criticized for singing the "bomb Iran" song, he asked his critics to "...lighten up.."!!!! His Iraq trip fiasco painfully highlights his ignorance of the reality on the ground, and his willingness to jeopardize the safety of American troops and Iraqi citizens to score political points.

It is still very early in the race, and at this stage, judging by McCain's weak campaign fund raising, it is apparent that many Americans feel the same unease with his candidacy.

The case for Obama

Opinion polls for the past few months constantly pitched Hillary Clinton as the democratic front runner, and I viewed these with constant disbelief. The opinion of Washington pundits aside, it is hard to imagine the average Jane or Joe rooting for Hillary. Voters can be roughly divided into two groups - people who do not really follow politics, and people who do. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that the former will have a major perception problem with Hillary, and the latter will most certainly have a problem with Hillary's stance on Iraq.

It is probably unfair to judge a book by it's cover, but politics is all about perception, and people do not really get the warm fuzzies when they see Hillary. She is too guarded, too practiced, too focus-grouped, and too opinion-polled. As she is afraid to be herself, she comes up short when compared to a slick Edwards or a warm, self-effacing Obama. Much like conventional desis, Americans are also typically guarded when it comes to rooting for strong willed, independent, career-oriented women. It is not a mere coincidence that a Laura Bush has wide spread support across party lines, and even Nancy Pelosi works over time to promote her nice ol' granny image. Hillary's performance as the junior senator from New York has been admirable, but, for a majority of the voting public who do not really deep dive into real politics, it is simply way too easy to dislike her.

For diehard democrats, it is really difficult to get past Hillary's vote for the Iraq war. She can nuance her stance on this forever, and her consultants can come up with all the necessary shpiel, but this does not change the reality; the consequences of the war have been disastrous, and also sadly anticipated by millions across the world....except, seemingly those who cast their votes. While voting for the war, Hillary could have either predicted these consequences or not. If she had predicted the consequences and still cast her vote, that makes her an unscrupulous politician who would rather give up her beliefs than cross paths with a then popular president. If she had not predicted the consequences, and cast her vote based on the "intelligence", that raises serious questions about her competency and capability to rule this nation. The same logic also taints all other contenders who voted for the war - John Edwards, John Mccain, and the likes.

The general unease about Hillary's candidacy is totally reflected in the first quarter fund raising numbers reported last week. Obama's 25 million came from thousands of average Janes and Joes, as opposed to Hillary's 26 million which was bolstered by her senate account, an undisclosed amount of general election contributions, and many friends left over from the Clinton years. I have nothing against Hillary - in fact, before Obama announced his candidacy, I was a major supporter. I do not have perception problems with her, but I simply cannot look past her Iraq vote.

Whats with all the mea culpa?

It has been the flavor of the past year or so. The magnitude of your mis-deed does not matter, you simply have to show up and say "i made a mistake, and i'm sorry" and boom!!! everything is magically forgotten. And do you want to create a PR bonanza for yourself out of your "little" boo boo? Simply show up on a late night comedy show, and smile gamely while the host make a couple of jokes at your expense, further "cute-fying" your gaff.

So, Joe Biden shoots his mouth off about Barack Obama, and then gains more visibility through all the talk shows and newscasts than he ever would have as the 459th wannabe for the democratic presidential nomination (ok the 459 is an exagerration, but it sure feels that way). Lewis "Scooter" Libby lies about conversations with reporters regarding the outing of a covert CIA operative. And guess what his defence is ? He says he just "forgot" what he said cos he had more pressing matters at the time. Its not a big deal, its just a war right? John Edwards voted yes for the war, and strongly supported it even a year and a half later. And guess what? No worries apparently. He says he is wrong, and he thinks that is good enough to wipe his slate clean and he is back to nursing presidential ambitions. Despite her husband being regarded as one of the most brilliant political strategists of all time, Hillary Clinton has not been sassy enough to master the mea culpa game and as a result, is in real danger of kissing her presidential dreams good bye.

Simple question - what happens the day Hillary admits she was wrong? Will time somehow turn itself back and will history rewrite itself? Does John Edward's so called "brave" admission make him any wiser? What is going to prevent him from committing another "mistake" when he is president? Especially scary is his justification - at the time, he was apparently busy with his political campaign and later, when he had the time to sit and think at leisure, he figured it all out. WTF?

I cannot help but wonder - as ordinary citizens, when we botch up something in our lives, we pay the price, but, in the public arena, major mistakes are gladly forgiven, and the doers of misdeeds are endlessly rewarded through bouts of free publicity they could have never dreamed of otherwise. What is wrong with the world we live in?