A Different Race

From Andrew Sullivan's Blog:

Today let the issues be the issue!

Joe Wurzelbacher, the Person of the Third Debate

So, there was Joe the plumber, Sen. John McCain's friend, who would become famous for complaining that he shouldn't face an extra tax burden for making a yearly net profit in excess of $ 250,000. Is he the typical voter? Do his anxieties reflect the "middle class", America's backbone, as per Sen. Obama's campaign? He was put to good use by Sen. McCain, who, however, failed to give a concise picture; when he wants the federal government to guarantee home-owners' mortgages, where is he going to find all the money to do so?

John McCain - a Hero for Not Inducing Too Much Hatred

That's the essence of this New York Times piece. On the other hand, his vice-presidential nominee, Gov. Sarah Palin, has been found to have abused executive power over a family matter in Alaska. I'm trying to find a page-1 (or maybe page-2) article on Sen. Biden - where is he?

A Devastating Review of John McCain's Life in Rolling Stone Magazine

This piece presents Sen. John McCain in the darkest of colors, the complete opposite of the persona he tries to present as a candidate. Although his time as a POW is treated rather harshly, there seem to be quite damaging elements in his conduct as a U.S. Senator. Let's see the impact or the revisions of this article.

The Dumbing Down of American Politics - Salon Magazine

Read this very interesting piece. This blog has very many disagreements with the Obama-Biden ticket's professed policies - in fact, it is closer to some of the things Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin are saying in the form of slogans. But the latter do not even come close to enunciating a proper conservative or libertarian position; they only give ridicule to ideas of smaller state intervention. Their support of the bail-out plan, as proposed by the Bush administration, is very indicative of their propensity to favor state intervention, when it seems politically expedient to do so. The lip service that the Republican ticket occasionally pays to libertarian ideas helps only to mock them further in the eyes of many people. Overall, the Republican ticket is a disaster for people espousing deregulation and free markets - and bringing the level of the discourse down to "folksiness" only makes matter worse.

Blogging the U.S. Presidential Election

This blog is going to follow the last stretches of the U.S. Presidential Election. It is going to make an endorsement within a couple of weeks, although, at the outset, neither of the major contenders seem to espouse the blog's libertarian ideals. We will also be following, when possible, the Libertarian Party candidate, Rep. Bob Barr. Right now the election seems Sen. Obama's to lose. However, one week is a long time in politics, let alone 4 weeks. Let's keep an eye on those presidential guys.