You just hit a power chord with me.......
The level of the "debates" has been eroding in a logarithmic fashion since last summer. Back in the "pre-season", when the fourth estate wasn't keeping score, we got to hear some in-depth stances from the fringe candidates and serious contenders w/o alot of risk to their candidacies. Now that we've whittled the field, the statements have progressed to vague "talking points" and "catch-phrases" plus focused attacks on the leaders.
Exhibit A: The Economy.......everyone is running to the stimulus package in lieu of concrete strategies to address the causes of our problems in the first place. No real attempts at focusing on the budget deficit (trillions), or trade deficit, or dollar de-valuation, or the price of oil..........all the sources of why the avg to below avg earners cant afford a mortgage, a gallon of gas, or a gallon of milk. Instead, take their money and give a little cash back in 4 months to put it back into the economy to keep the economy going so there are more jobs so more people can work and make more money and buy more things.......:mj16: ......sounds dumb b/c it is dumb.
Exhibit B: Foreign Policy........its the "terrorists" or "Iran" or nothing here. No China......no Russia.....no India. These are the players at the table with the big stacks.........why waste all our time on the secular Middle East states with their short stacks, constantly pecking away at us while the others get stronger and more invested in their own futures while sneering at us and our hodge-podge, Little Boy Blue stratagems? Just playing to the lowest common denominator, I suppose:00x10
Exhibit C: Health Care......right outta the top 3 already? One little misunderstanding about Dr King's place in history, and now thats all we hear about? Right smack in the heart of the most important election for the future of this arm of society, we get sound-bites out of context and more Revs Al & Jesse than I think I can stomach. Our retirement years and the future of our children are at stake.......yes, a big part is making sure the indegent populus is taken care of, but most of the money goes to the aged, and that number is going to blow the fawk up soon. Where's that coming from and who's gonna take care of them? If the feds don't cover the bills, then there will be fewer hospitals, fewer beds in the ones that keep going, fewer jobs in the communities that lose them, fewer nurses, fewer doctors........the drain on the economy that is health-care extends further into the economic discussion than is talked about. As an example......I live in a extended suburban community of around 250K census.........health care THE #1 employer in the community! Not manufacturing, not service/retail, and certainly not professional.............3 hospitals, around 1250 beds total plus horizontal integration (clinics, nursing homes, rehab, outpatient surgery/physical therapy/psych & social support centers) covers 30-35% of the jobs. What if one has to close? :00x4
Unreal............there's not a topic on tv related to the election season these days that doesn't make me:00x25
Sorry.........its the coffee again:shrug:
Rant over.......Doc