I know that on November 4th, the Patriotic Americans will rise up and Elect McCain/Palin!

Oh, and Obama is actually 47. He was born in Aug. of 1961.

Obama is 50 years old!! And Palin is 45!!

I'm not saying they're geezers. But they're not exactly youngsters, either.

Leaving aside that, McCain doesn't have the temperament to be president. I can't say it any plainer than that. McCain is another “shoot first, ask questions later” type of personality. I've had enough of that during the last 8 years. If Republicans wanted to be taken seriously, perhaps they should have given the nomination to a candidate with more to offer.

As an independent, I've voted both sides of the aisle, depending on what I felt the country needed at that particular time. Right now, the Republicans don't need to worry about my vote for the forseeable future. Their mismanagement at the executive and legislative levels has been disastrous.

Image that the real legacy of the Bush II Administration is that is will probably be the last Republican Administration.

Polimom, my short answer to your question would be no. They would certainly recognize the basic structure, but they would see that structure as heavily compromised and the spirit that inspired that structure as weak. The founders certainly were men of great vision, and we owe them much for that, but there were things they would have had no way of foreseeing – the huge population, high tech advances in transportation and communication, advances in medicine that have greatly increased the average lifespan, environmental changes on a massive scale… all these things have drastically changed our social structure and our habitat, and have in turn put new demands on our democracy. That said, I still believe the basic structure has more value than the people who currently inhabit it, and yet the structure is useless without people who understand and appreciate the original vision. The founders planted some really, really good seeds, but they knew it would all be out of their hands in due time.

The polls don't lie: the financial crisis has helped Obama, not McCain. Voters don't think McCain has the judgment or temperament to lead in this crisis. Maybe they would in a 9/11. But this is an economic crisis and McCain is weak.

This is why Obama called McCain “erratic.” He's painting McCain as uncertain and unsafe on the economy. World issues (non-economic) are very low on the list of worries right now.

1. McCain's own admission that he doesn't know much economics. He then proved to us that this was true with his response to the crisis which was all over the map.

2. No Republican seems safe in a Great Depression scenario. It might be that we call on Republicans for other sorts of emergencies — but this is the emergency that drives us to the Democrats. FDR >>> Hoover.

3. This drive off the cliff comes after 8 years of Republican rule. Why keep driving with a Republican. Especially one as inept as we see in #1.

4. McCain is old and his would-be replacement inspires even less confidence, if that's even possible.

I should add, btw, that while I #2 and #3 shouldn't carry as much weight as they do, I think McCain has proven himself to be utterly unfit for office at a time when we are entering into a crisis of this magnitude. It's not just that he doesn't know anything about economics, it's that he doesn't know anybody who's going to give him good advice about it. His team of economic advisors is shockingly thin (and it's not like Republicans don't have good players on the bench). Obama, by contrast, has the absolute best of the best working with him on this. Paul Volcker, Larry Summers, Joseph Stiglitz, etc. etc. etc. Those are the guys I want in charge ASAP. Oh yeah, and McCain, genius that he is, has made noise about getting rid of Bernancke, who actually is pretty much exactly the guy you want in there, seeing as how he's the world's #1 expert on the Great Depression. McCain is so in love with making the gesture of letting heads roll that he could well roll the one head he's got in there who might actually be helpful. Gadzooks.

You are right that McCain has some kind of rep. And you might be right that he hasn't completely destroyed it. But if you are, God help us. Cause we would have just elected the worst possible person for the job at this time. Not saying Obama is going to make it all better. But at least we have a shot with him.

NOTE: I'm still not supporting Obama, but all things being equal, I think the facts on the ground indicate that he *should* win.

The whole point here was to pose the question: Are we at a point, as a society, where we will run to the familiar, as in what we knew in “the good old days” of the Rich Old White Guys club, or have we truly moved on? I live near the upstate NY / PA border, and there are plenty of places in both Pennsylvania and Ohio where I find that question to be in doubt. But wouldn't it be nice if I were wrong?

Sorry if it seems like I'm playing some psychological games here, but the original post stands on its own. Are we still a nation – at least in the swing states – where the comfort of what we have traditionally pictured as “the winning man” will carry the day? Or will we opt for something new?

Your comment talks about the country, and the brilliant minds who conceived it. Do you think our government structure today resembles the vision they had?

MUA HA HA HAH AHA

*cough*

My evil scientist imitation is so far off these days.