for the record, my view on Kerry & Edwards
first, NC Sen Edwards was a great choice, mine since spring
Edwards is not popular with the business community
he might possibly tap into the anti-biz anti-corruption sentiment
as a trial lawyer who sued big businesses,
he makes a clear choice for alignment among the population
little guy who got hurt, common man
vs
big business, heavy handed bla bla bla
he offers charm, good looks, and strong intellect
unfortunately, Edwards will have to keep a lower profile at times, since is very likely to upstage the lower key Kerry whose dry style and wooden image is tough to embrace and get excited about
Edwards by contrast, reminds me of JFKennedy charmisma
he seems just as compassionate as Kerry, but one notch higher in mental prowess
by contrast, Bushy seems like a high school truant in absent intelligence, while Cheney seems like a smartashell father type who would be perfectly willing to sell his sons and your sons for corporate profits
interesting that Kerry chose a speech in my native Pittsburgh to announce the Edwards choice
Pitt is a labor town, a dead labor town
it has three distinctions
1. nationally #1 county in obesity
2. nationally #2 county in old age
3. nationally top10 county in mortgage foreclosures
this area has numerous dead little towns which used to support the steel industry
the high dollar, high labor costs, strong labor unions, and environmental laws killed the steel industry here
Kerry is clearly tapping into voter angst and distress
this election could come down to TRUST & COMPASSION in the face of few economic solutions and a war in Iraq which will be IMPOSSIBLE TO STEP AWAY FROM
had a nice discussion objectively of Kerry and his economics yesterday
he offers much more of a sense of honesty
which contrasts Bushy's image of always working a backroom agenda
the choice of Bushy (guile, dumb as a post, hidden agenda, mental density) versus Kerry (wooden, bright, compassionate, uninspiring)
my friend called Kerry "the Democrat Maitre D" (very funny)
but let's be clear, Kerry is no panacea
he has built a campaign so far on a few planks
1. health care affordability to reach the lower middle class and lower class who are getting the pinch from health care costs
2. removal of tax incentives to assist businesses to relocate HQ offshore, removal of tax breaks for businesses to outsource to lower cost Asians
3. making a tougher stance against China
4. taking a closer look at Iraqi commitments and keeping troops in harm's way
(this is the closest you will ever hear a prez candidate during a time of war to urge a recall of troops)
the upshot unfortunately is a rise in trade protection and ultimately trade war with China
and escalating federal costs for absorbing health care costs
as for the war, certain things have been set into motion, like the extreeeeme destabilization of Saudi Arabia coming as a side effect ricochet of Iraqi annexation
dont insult my intelligence by calling it "liberation" since liberators are not murdered with death counts over 500 since the liberation
Kerry is attempting to appeal to labor, by tapping into job angst
Bushy this winter made a clear choice to turn away from extended jobless benefits
Kerry seems 30-40 IQ pts higher than the Idiot Prince
it is possible that Kerry will sponsor a questionable war into the northern farm zones of South America in order to secure steady supplies of tomatoes and other vegetables, which will aid our national security for Heinz contracts abroad, as they search for future sources to augment Californian supplies which are sure to suffer from drought effects on farm production, and which are sure to suffer from political fallout from migrant worker backlash <GGG>
Kerry can hardly add to fed deficits than Bushy
Bushy sponsored the prescription drug Medicare bill, which in my view will in 10 yrs make for a single line item of $1000 billion
Kerry health care talk is just that, talk
let's see if any semblance of national health care plan or health care assistance is coming, like tax deductible health care contributions (eliminate that threshold)
health care campaign talk is usually as empty as "getting tough on crime"
I believe Kerry has no solutions for any economic problems
but to be fair, I dont believe there are any solutions for economic trade and debt resolution short of deep recession or worse
our political leaders can make economic conditions worse, and Bushy surely has with massive added fed deficit bills (off-budget) for Iraqi War, and gutting of middle class with encouragement and justification of Asian outsourcing (which totally misses the Fallacy of Decomposition)
that Fallacy means what is good for this company and that company can collectively be a disaster if almost all companies do the same thing
I do not believe the Bushy Economic advisor team is stupid
they do exactly what they set out to do: help big business and their shareholders even at the expense of US citizens and US economic health
in this respect Mankiw is brilliant
the sad fact of economic trade reality is that we are marching year by year toward a trade war with China
then outright war in the next decade
totally absolutely unavoidable
reminds me of the early decades of 1900 century
Japan was an emerging industrial giant
they clashed with USA and Europe, mostly USA
war by 1940's
same with China
give China about 3-4 years, and their oil imports will probably surpass the US import total
then China will place military positions in the MidEast
"to protect their interests"
I predict first trade war with China will be over US farm goods, like grains and soybeans
possibly at the same time, trade war over steel and cement and key industrial metals
the USA wasted a gigantic opportunity in the 1980's & 1990's
we should have spent the peace dividend on fuelcell research and development
now the Arab oil production will slowly go into decline
while the Iraqi War will increasingly destabilize Saudi Arabia
the USA stepped up its market share on SUV monster joke vehicles
the USA will next import Japanese hybrid, then electric cars
the USA lacks national energy initiatives and any semblance of intelligence
I doubt Kerry will be any smarter
he will cater to the immediate needs and tap the immediate angst
he might offer a better feel-good president
but he will in my view offer no solutions to anything
we will get continued federal huge deficits, the same path toward a USDollar crisis, and a nasty war with China (first trade, then worse)
I bristle at anyone claiming I am left or right, Dem or GOP
I am neither and have a long track record for neither
I have long said that politics has deteriorated into a seemingly mindless tribal battle that lacks accountability and logic
the federal budget process is robbed by the left hand or the right
in the next four years I expect it will be robbed by the left hand
"it is our turn (to rob the public till)" will be the next battle cry of liberals and Democrats
in the last four years, we have seen corporate subsidies, closed bid contracts, support of private oil interest by US Military, and worse
I would like to see the CIA leak out the Energy Commission report next
they clearly in my view leaked the Abu Ghraib (which the Idiot Prince could not pronounce) prison abuse photos to the press
let's not call that "torture" since it was just nasty abuse
the public would possibly be served IF IF IF the Energy Commission really planned to assist oil firms by invading Iraq as a principal mission
I am not sure about the IF, but it looks that way oftentimes
Kerry will have a hard time in defending his voting record in the Senate, and his extraordinarily high absentee record (no show) in Senate votes
Edwards will galvanize business interests who oppose him
over & out
the strangest part of the upcoming presidential election will center on debate
Kerry will demand a debate, and the public will endorse that
but Bushy will want to have a 4-way debate which includes the vice presidents
it will become clear that Bushy is more a puppet for Cheney
Bushy alone will be interesting to watch
much like a cornered dog that has bitten people and now must face controls
/ jim |
