by Robert C. Sage

Created on: August 22, 2008

Although I agree that on foreign policy, the differences are blurred, on domestic policies, that is not as much the case. Both McCain and Obama are beholden to the power elite, although to varying degrees. As a result, neither major party is truly looking after the interests of the majority of Americans, so if the race in your state is solidly in one camp or the other, you should look to a minor party candidate, such as the Green's Cynthia McKinney or Ralph Nader, etc. The major parties need to hear our protests that we are dissatisfied with the platitudes and unkept promises. At least W, McBush and the Republicans occasionally acknowledge representing the interests of the rich. However, the Democrats failed to show dedication to the issues that won them the 2006 mid-term elections, namely endless wars of conquest, corporate welfare and the compromise of American civil liberties.

If the race gets tight in my state, I will vote for the chance for change with Obama. McCain has become indistinguishable from Bush, hence the moniker "McBush". In the past, McCain had opposed off-shore drilling in environmentally sensitive areas and waxed eloquently about the abhorrence of torture as state policy, but he has changed those positions. McCain also has very questionable ethics, since he cheated on his first wife flagrantly, accepted dirty money during the Savings and Loan crisis as a prominent member of the "Keating Five" and has allowed supporters to engage in a smear campaign against Obama by questioning his patriotism and promoting mindless negativity with such as the celebrity/Paris Hilton tag. McBush wants to remain in Iraq indefinitely, even 100 years and has surrounded himself with neo-con advisers who advocate more preemptive war with the likes of Iran.

McCain appears to inhabit a back and white world, where good and bad are instantly assessed and rarely change. More considered observers see much more gray and a need to talk to adversaries and negotiate resolutions instead of threatening military action as a uniform prescription to all foreign policy issues. McCain lives in a world where understanding the internet isn't required, showing he is a relic from another age. That is particularly dangerous when he adopts ideologically based positions, such as criticizing Russia for coming to the rescue of breakaway provinces in Georgia. McCain apparently doesn't even know how many homes he owns. His history of Melanoma cancer combined with old age, makes him seem to lack

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