Let me note up front – I have no dog (or pig) in this race.  While I will vote on November 4th, I also will vote for the persons who I think will help us the most – not because of political ideology, but because of their ideas.  Which is why the last week disturbs me so much.  I will have to agree that in one thing, Sen. Obama is very right – this election must be about the issues.  There are far too many things going on now for this presidential election to be a popularity contest.

First, to the news of the day.  By now, I’m sure you have heard the news about the Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch- but in case you just crawled out from under a rock, Wall Street was rocked today as the housing crisis and the bad loans made on homes took down two of the biggest players.  The Lehman Brothers investment firm has been around for 158 years – surviving the Great Depression, Black Monday, Black Friday, numerous ups and downs in the market, and it is the current housing crisis that has forced them into bankruptcy.  Meanwhile, Merrill Lynch has accepted a buyout from Bank of America because of the same issues.

Sen. Obama pointed to these issues, as well as the issues with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as further proof that America is on the wrong track, and it seems he has the numbers to back him up.  Unemployment, foreclosures, consumer spending and consumer confidence all point to the idea that America is headed in a direction that we must bring to a screaming halt, or suffer even graver consequences.

And yet, Sen. McCain stood up today and proclaimed that “Our economy — I think still, the fundamentals of our economy are strong — but these are very, very difficult times. And I promise you we will never put America in this position again.”

Again?  Again, Sen. McCain?  If you honestly believe that the fundamentals of our economy, the fundamentals that have led to all these issues, you cannot make that promise.  Because it’s obvious that you just don’t understand.  And apparently, neither do your advisors.

This, on top of the issue that’s been bugging me.  Sen. McCain has been saying almost all of last week that had Sen. Obama agreed to town hall debates, the tenor of this election wouldn’t be as bad.

Let’s stop and think about this for a minute – according to Sen. McCain, if Sen. Obama had just done what he wanted, things wouldn’t have gotten so ugly.

My biggest issue is I’ve heard this before – not the same words, but close.  I’ve heard it from a husband who claims that if his wife only did what he wanted, he wouldn’t have to hit her.  I’ve heard it from people who say that if a woman hadn’t worn what she wore, she never would have been raped.  I have heard it before, and it’s as wrong now as it was then.

Sen. McCain, you are better than that.  How dare you insinuate that just because you didn’t get your way, you had to get ugly.  You were a P.O.W. of a country, and suffered because you would not do what they wanted you to do.  You know better, Sen. McCain, and to say anything else is demeaning not only to Americans, but to your own service record.

These two combined make me wonder if the tail is wagging the dog now.  Is Sen. McCain this senile, or is he simply saying what his political advisors think he should say?  I hold a lot of respect for Sen. McCain – I thought he should have won the Republican Nomination back in 2000 over George Bush.  But the Sen. McCain we see now is so far removed from that Sen. McCain that I do not know who this man is now.  And that is a truly frighting thing.

Sen. McCain, if you truly think these things, please, do all of us a favor and realize it’s time to put the country first.  That’s your slogan, and it’s time to listen to it.  But if you’re simply parroting what your advisors tell you you should say, you need to stop it.  Sen. McCain, stand up.  Stand up for yourself, and stand up for America.

Do not follow in the footsteps of your predacessor.  You are a better man than that.

Sen. McCain actually looked dumbfounded for a moment, even though he was trying to laugh it off.  I wonder what was going through his mind at that point, whether it was How dare she, or Oh S**t!

52 days until November 4, and it’s getting deep – let insanity reign!

First up, we have Sen. McCain’s newest ad, entitled, appropriately enough, “Disrespectful.”  As the ad goes, poor picked upon Gov. Palin, that mean man (Sen. Obama) is just being disrespectful to her, calling her “good looking,” then an order taker, then a liar.  The saddest part is our friends at FactCheck.org couldn’t hit the presses fast enough after the ad first aired to dispute it- the speed was stunning.  As they point out, the two main issues are that it was Joe Biden, not Sen. Obama who called Gov. Palin “good looking,” and it was done in self-deprecating humor against himself, not as a slight to Gov. Palin (and anyone who hands out buttons at their convention stating that their VP candidate is “hot” cannot complain about a comment of “good looking.”)  Second, the doing what she was told comment was misconstrued from Sen. Obama’s adviser David Axlerod, who was asked about Gov. Palin’s comments about Sen. Obama having no significant legislative experience.  the only problem was, he actually said that she was mistaken, but maybe that was the information she had been told.  Not the same as “She only does what she’s told to do.”

Not to be outdone, Sen. Obama’s camp released an ad painting Sen. McCain as old and out of touch.  Now, I’m all for a nice fight, but that’s hitting a little below the belt, even if the man is 72 years old.  Then again, when Sen. McCain makes comments to the New York Times in an interview this past July that he doesn’t e-mail and is “learning to get online,” some could say the man is asking for it.

And finally, Sen. Obama release another ad this morning, but it’s not an attack ad, it’s an actual campaign ad about…  (wait for it, wait for it….)  issues!  (I know, I know…   wtf, right?  I didn’t hear any angels singing in rapture, either.)

52 days until November 4 – let the insanity reign.

On this election:

On the families of the candidates:

And finally:

Craig, I couldn’t have said it better myself.

With those simple words, the news that changed out entire world was introduced to me on my way to work on this day, seven years ago.

For all the insanity of this election cycle, for all the craziness that keeps many of us both entertained and horrified, for this one day, we will agree with both Sen. McCain and Sen. Obama.  Today should be nothing more than a day or remembrance.  We will have 52 more days to tear down and build up our candidates of choice.  For this one day, we shall put it all aside.

For it was on this day, seven years ago that America, and in part the world was introduced to true insanity.  Humanity has used the words insanity and insaneto describe many things, and many people.  Americans looked on in horror on December 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.  But, looking back, as horrifying as that was, it was no really insane.  Sure, with 20/20 hindsight, Japan was mistaken to draw America into the Great War, but they attacked a military target in hopes of crippling America before we decided to join in with our full fleet.

We described the cold war as insane, and the nuclear buildup could certainly be called insane, but the idea was always to cripple the other’s military strength.

Yet, seven years ago, on September 11, 2001, the members of a terrorist organization showed American and the world what happens when a target is not attacked for its military value, but for its shock value.

Let us be clear – while there is talk that the World Trade Center was attacked as an attempt to destroy America’s economy, the death and destruction of over 4,000 people was not an economic attack.  It was a shock and awe attempt to cower the American public, to make us run in fear, hide in our homes, and destroy our way of life.  And for a few days, it almost worked.

We shut down transportation.  We shut down shipping.  We worried where the next attack would come from, who would be next.  I lived within ten miles of several oil refineries and one of Dow Chemical’s biggest plants in the south.  In this new attack strategy, those seemed to be as likely of an attack value as anything else.

There is plenty of blame to be spread around on how this could have happened, and why we didn’t do anything to prevent it from happening, and even more blame for the subsequent events that followed.  But today is neither a day or blame, nor of hand wringing.  America took a hard hit, one that was meant to knock us down, like the bully hitting you in the schoolyard, knocking you to the ground, telling you you’d better stay down if you knew what was good for you.  But we didn’t.

Today is a day to remember the tragic events of September 11, 2001.  But it’s also a day to remember that while we took a hit that should have worked, it didn’t.  We got back up, we dusted ourselves off, we looked the bully in the face, and told it we were stronger.  We collectively gave it the middle finger, and told it that if it thought that America was that weak, it was sadly mistaken.  We announced to the world that if you grabbed this tiger by the tail, you’d best be worried about the teeth on the other end.

And on that day, the world stood with us.  Remember, the terrorists attacked Spain as well, and England.  They continue to drive a spike between us, because as a unified world, they have no place.  As a unified world, unified against this kind of terror and horror and insanity, they have no where to go, no where to hide, and no foot hold to gain.

I will end with the words of the great Winston Churchill, spoken at HarrowSchool, October 29, 1941:

On this day, we recognize what insanity truly is – and why we must never give in to it.

There’s only one problem:  FactCheck.org came out with an immediate rebuttalthat they did NOT, in fact, say this about Sen. Obama’s campaign, but instead about bogus e-mails floating around cyberspace that have not been attributed to the Obama/Biden campaign.  In fact, they went as far as to make the following analogy:

Ouch.  It’s one thing to be called a liar by the other campaign, or a media person such as Keith Olbermann who is obviously supportive of your opponent.  But by the very non-partial organization you quote frequently in your campaign ads – that one has to sting.

54 days until November 4 – let the insanity reign.

 ’Lipstick on a pig’: Attack on Palin or common line – CNN

And John McCain jumped up yesterday with a new ad – this one streaching credulity, comparing Sarah Palin’s comments about a bulldog in lipstick to Sen. Obama’s comments.  As I am all for insanity, but highly against stupidity, I will NOT be posting that one, though I’m sure you can find it on YouTube.

On this paticular one, I think I need to quote Keith Olbermann – Sen. McCain, Grow Up!

54 Days until November 4th – let the insanity reign.

The McCain/PalinCamp jumped up immediately with righteous igdination that Sen. Obama was directly referring to Gov. Palin, calling her a pig in lipstick, and demanded an immediate apology.  This after Gov. Palin self-referenced herself as a “bulldog in lipstick” both at the Republican National Convention, and on the campaign trail.  Now, I can see how someone from the great state of sand and sun and cactus that is Arizona could confuse a pit bull and a pig – they’re both short, ugly, and sometimes mean – but It’s not like Sen. McCain hasn’t used the term himself.  In this election.  On the campaign trail.

And then, there’s this just in – Gov. Huckabee, one of McCain’s backers, one of the Republicans – effectively said that the McCain/Palin camp were blowing this out of proportion.

54 days until November 4th - let the insanity reign.

I know, I know…  we’ve been foolign ourselves for years that they care about something other than office, but in almost all cases it’s true.  I won’t paint the whole bunch with the broad brush, but the greater majority flip flop worse than a catfish in a boat.

Interesting article from KTTU Channel 2 in Alaska – seems that while the McCain/Palin ad running now is “mistaken” about Gov. Palin being against the so called “Bridge to Nowhere,” the Obama/Biden camp isn’t totally accurate on their portrail of her flip flop as an effect of her running for Goveneror of Alaska.  Now, Vice President…  that’s another matter.

55 days till the November 4th election, several debates, and the ugly ads are jsut starting to ramp up.  Let the insanity continue.

For your viewing pleasure, the McCain/Palin ad, and Obama/Biden’s rebuttal.