What sucks is that we always deserve what we get, and we don’t get much.

The actual people running McCain’s campaign (as well as the Fox pundits) have been absolutely tone deaf. You can’t keep painting Obama as some sort of bizarre leftist, race-baiting radical who “doesn’t understand” anything.

The voters have seen and heard the man for 4 years now, and no amount of hysterical firebreathing is going convince them he’s anything but cool, calm, intelligent, and exceedingly presidential. He might not balance the budget, but he’s not going plunge the nation into a socialist death spiral either.

If McCain loses, it will be because he forgot every advantage he had lay in not running the Rove-ish campaign he’s run.

What the Right thinks and what they say in an attempt to win the election are two different things. They know that Obama is going to be pragmatic. All the evidence points in that direction, but if they say that, then they can’t scare voters into voting against him. So they paint him as the “most liberal Senator” (seems like every Democrat they run against is somehow the “most liberal”) or a socialist. That last one really bothers me because A) he’s not a socialist and B) what’s wrong with a little socialism? I guess they depend on people just kneejerking that socialism is bad (like being a Muslim, apparently). Never you mind that Bush and Congress just socialized a large section of our banking industry.

And yeah, I agree, he’ll have a chance to make the numbers work. As I’ve said, I don’t think he’ll have much choice. The market will work to constrain spending naturally. The alternative is inflation.

There are going to be some tough choices. It will be interesting to see how a Democratic President and Congress makes them. I’m thinking Obama will be much more pragmatic than the Right is predicting.

And second, there are lots of ways the government can raise money and not all of them involve raising taxes. In fact Obama answered this question about where the mney comes from in the debate. There would be the tax on the rich, but he also wants to close loopholes on corporate tax which is a very good idea. Though they will fight him tooth and nail to continue enjoying the free ride, I think he might have the cajones to actually take them on.

He’s going to have to pick his battles because taking on tax loopholes, the medical industry, and lobbyists is probably a bit much for one person. But we’ll see. I see no reason not to me optimistic. No sense shooting him down before he’s even started.

It is.

It’s worth pointing out that Bill Clinton promised middle class tax cuts as well. They never materialized (and the shoudln’t have) because it would have made his budget surpluses impossible.

It’s the same kind of reality I’m trusting Obama will run into. Maybe he can pay what it will cost to fix healthcare (I hope so). But continuing to weaken the dollar by selling debt to China ain’t a good plan.

Remember, I am voting for Obama. I’m skeptical, not a hater.

Also, neither candidate has mentioned that their national service plans, while requiring donated time, will also require significant logistical (i.e., financial) support that will likely come from the federal treasury.

None of this is really spending I object to. Hell, I work for a hospital. I can’t wait to have more paying customers. But where’s the money coming from?

I’m not saying I don’t agree with Obama’s spending decisions, I’m asking where are the cuts going to be. He’s not even pretending this is budget neutral. If all this spending occurs in increases, and none of it is paid for by cuts, I’m not for it.

But in principle, yes, I agree with a single payer healthcare system. But shit is expensive. And although savings are theoretically possible, it’s not going to pay for itself for a long while.

It’s not all that surprising that there would be McCain stickers in Sugar Land (note: two words). After all, that’s DeLay country. It’s worth pointing out that folks in Sugar Land are not the narrow-minded evangelicals that so often comprise the stereotypical Republicans that you see in media coverage.

Here’s a question: Why would you want to live somewhere where everybody has the same opinions? Diversity of opinion is important, otherwise you get groupthink decisions.

It’s difficult for me to endorse the fiscal side of Obama’s policies.

Yeah? Like what? Health care? That’s the only major entitlement program that I know of in Obama’s policies. Are you saying that we shouldn’t or aren’t able to do what every other industrialized country in the world has managed to do? I’d really like to hear this logic.

Also from Edna, Stone Cold Steve Austin.