I am deeply concerned about this election.

There seems to be much sentiment in support of the McCain-Palin ticket for reasons that confound me.

I was a working mother in Alaska; I went to soccer games and gymnastic meets. That hardly qualified me to be vice president or, worse yet, president. I want those who hold the highest offices in the land to have the intelligence, perspective, compassion and judgment to understand my problems, yes, but at least as important, I want them to have the ability and temperament to analyze and make decisions on these problems, on all the grave economic, social, and international issues that confront us.

John McCain was a war hero: He chose to remain imprisoned when he could have bailed out based on his father’s influence. That is admirable. But it has nothing to do with his abilities to govern today.  He graduated near the very bottom of his class. His impulsive choice of a running mate suggests a politics-driven, rash style of decision-making. Sarah Palin was virtually unknown to McCain. She lacks knowledge and experience in national and international issues; her “pit bull” demeanor is hardly conducive to fruitful communication with potential adversaries on the Hill and around the globe. Yet rather than considering what the country would need should he die, McCain picked Palin to energize his base.

Barack Obama certainly has the lower- and middle-class background that Palin supporters profess to admire. But through his talent and the efforts that his mother and he put forth, he attained a stellar education. Why does that make him an “elitist?” Isn’t quality education something that all parents aspire to attain for their children? Don’t we want our leaders to be able to engage in critical thinking? Isn’t that exactly what Obama did when he resisted the knee-jerk reaction to support the misguided war in Iraq?

And why do people continue to believe the lies about who will raise taxes? The reality is, ultimately, we may have to pay more taxes as a consequence of bailing out Wall Street – the same Wall Street that John McCain has never wanted to regulate. But the reality of the two candidates’ tax proposals is that Barack Obama’s would give more relief to the middle class.

The last eight years have shown us what we get in health care, economic well-being, and international affairs and standing when we have a trigger-happy, brash decision-maker in the White House who doesn’t care about the well-being of ordinary citizens and is incapable or unwilling to listen to diverse perspectives and rationally decide the issues of our time.  John McCain and Sarah Palin embody more of the same.  Barack Obama will focus on the problems real Americans face and make decisions in a manner, and with results, of which we will all be proud.

JOAN WOODWARD
Grand Junction

This entry was posted on Monday, September 22nd, 2008 at 2:30 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.