Subtle. But so true.

YouTube – Democrats on Escalator.

From the AP:

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke bluntly warned reluctant lawmakers Tuesday they risk a recession with higher unemployment and increased home foreclosures unless they act on the Bush administration’s $700 billion plan to bail out the financial industry.

…

Bernanke’s remarks about the risk of recession came in response to a question from Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., who seemed eager to hear a strong rationale for lawmakers to act swiftly on the administration’s unprecedented request.

“The financial markets are in quite fragile condition and I think absent a plan they will get worse,” Bernanke said.

Ominously, he added, “I believe if the credit markets are not functioning, that jobs will be lost, that our credit rate will rise, more houses will be foreclosed upon, GDP will contract, that the economy will just not be able to recover in a normal, healthy way.”

…

Dodd later spoke disparagingly of the administration’s proposal. “What they have sent us is not acceptable,” he told reporters after presiding over a lengthy Senate Banking Committee hearing at which Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson urged swift action by Congress.

Even in this so-called crisis which as more “normal people” up in arms than the war in Iraq does, the same old Democrats can’t seem to put aside their agenda and political prejudices to act swiftly to fix a problem. They all know better than the other person. So we get stifled. Again.

And yes, this has happened before. Try every time GWB or McCain or other legislators have attempted to pass regulation laws for the now collapsed Fanne Mae and Freddie Mac. Reasons? Well, I leave that to you to decide… but I will offer the suggestion that a lot of it is due to Dodd being in the pocket of some very wealthy former CEOs of said lending firms. And when I say “in the pocket” I mean that Dodd has received the most amount of money from those CEOs during his career from 1989-2008. source

Look at the number two on that list. Yeah, that’s after only 3 years in the senate. That much money is BIG incentive to stifle good solid legislation that could have prevented, or at least helped to prevent, what we are currently dealing with.

And even with that you think we would be quick to learn that there is a problem. Every time GWB urges lawmakers to act swiftly and put aside partisanship, the opposite happens.

Biden’s constant missteps make me kind of embarrassed for the Obama camp. At the same time, someone in their once near-impeccable PR department has to be slamming their head against their desk (if not throwing their computer monitor out the window).

During a campaign event in Columbia, Missouri, Biden did not mention his Republican counterpart by name but said, “I hear all this talk about how the Republicans are going to work in dealing with parents who have both the joy … and the difficulty of raising a child who has a developmental disability, who were born with a birth defect.”

…

“Well, guess what, folks? If you care about it, why don’t you support stem cell research?” asked Biden, the running mate of Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama. source

That’s certainly not helping anything Joe. Especially when you consider who your opponent is.

Oh but of course the Obama camp tried to spin it in their favour:

“This is a clash of policies, not a clash of personalities,” Wade said. “We’ve heard not a dime’s worth of difference between the McCain-Palin ticket and the Bush administration on medical breakthroughs that millions of parents and doctors believe could save lives and transform the quality of life for countless Americans.”

Except that’s not what Biden actually said. He raised a fallacy and then charged his opponent with not caring; i.e., if you care you must support stem cell research.

Nice job offending your opponent Joe. Keep up the good work.

Biden’s comments on special needs kids called ‘new low’ – CNN.com.

I just wish that I could actually talk about the issues with my Obama supporting friends. But it seems all I encounter from that camp are smear stories and personal attacks on the candidates and their families. I don’t really understand that. When you listen to Barack speak he’s said repeatedly he doesn’t want the campaign to be about dirt and “red meat” as the media has been calling it, but instead about the issues.

But maybe that’s too hard for a culture entrenched in on-demand content and ubiquitous internet. Maybe because the candidate himself isn’t offering any frivolous attack, the supporters feel the need to do so. Not that the Republican side isn’t doing the same. I’m sure that’s happening too. But I haven’t seen as much of it… at least not yet.

But I’ve already seen Cindy McCain called a “tranny” and criticized for purchasing a designer dress (with her own money, I might add); making fun of the fact that the RNC purchased a stock photo of a black couple riding bikes for one of their videos (as opposed to filming actual supporters?); loads of making fun of Palin; and then just your typical “fear-mongering,” “big oil,” “same old thing” jargon.

But nothing on the real issues. Just a bunch of straw men, built up to distract everyone. Or maybe it’s just most of the people I know don’t pay attention to the actual substance of this year’s election. Maybe it really is all about the PR and better videos and nice suits and making fun of the other candidate just because he is the other candidate.

I know this has been the state of politics for a long time in the US, but with all of the talk of change and peace and needing something different to happen I probably raised my hopes too high that something would actually change. But no. Media is media, and people are as susceptible as ever. More and more I see that few want to take responsibility for themselves or their actions but are content with shifting the blame or just being selfish.

If you’ve read this and it’s generated any thoughts, I’d like to hear them. Either way. If you’re someone that thinks about the issues in the campaign, I’d like to hear your thoughts as well. Leave a comment or use the contact link above to email me.