To be able to say that John McCain or Barack Obama has two different agendas with a straight face should grant one an Oscar. While Obama has been campaigning under the banner of “change” and “hope” and other undefined, substance-lacking terms, McCain has hijacked that same message. Sarah Palin as VP gives McCain the clout to do that.

Now they are both campaigning as candidates of change. Ironically, neither of them is going to change anything. The Republicans and the Democrats–to paraphrase Pat Buchanun–are but two wings of the same bird. I’m not sure how much more evident this needs to be. Even the campaign messages are identical now.

All anyone can talk about is change. The American people want change. We know that the path we are on is a death trap. We can feel that things are going the wrong way. The two major parties are well aware that the people are displeased with what they are doing but, they don’t want change. To them the question is: why kill a good thing?

The politicians and lobbyists benefit from our current system. The American people are suffering. With this understanding in mind, why would we think that electing more of the same people who are in power and enjoying the perks of the current system is going to change anything? They won’t. Obama-Biden and McCain-Palin is the definition of more of the same.

The Democrats will try to bombard us with messages of change and that we can’t have another term of a Bushesque Presidency. The Republicans will tell us that they are the real party of change and that they have kept America safe since 9/11.

The truth of the matter is that we can’t have another Bushesque Presidency so we can’t elect McCain or Obama. Obama is not going to be unlike Bush. Bush was not unlike Clinton who was not unlike Bush and the chain continues backwards with a few exceptions. The two parties will tell you otherwise. They will tell you that they are different in every way. These two parties are responsible for driving the country into the cataclysmic hellhole that is staring us in the face.

Neither party will change anything because it is in their best interest to keep things the same. The Republicans aren’t any better at protecting us from terrorists than the Democrats–they are both bad at it. Invading countries, starting wars, or voting for the funding the wars is not how we keep America safe. That is how we create more terrorists with an even greater hatred of America.

We are in Iraq not because President Bush tricked us into it. We are in Iraq because Congress gave up their power to declare war. Congress had every opportunity to say, “no, we are not going to war”. Instead, they gave the President authorization to go on ahead. Not only did the Congress give up their duty to declare war, they then proceeded to continuously fund the war. If the Democrats are interested in stopping the war they can stop funding it. They won’t. Instead, they put other things into the bills for their benefit and then vote to pass them.

These politicians don’t care if American soldiers are dying by the tens or thousands as long as they can perpetuate this system by diverting blame and spinning the news.

Obama is not change. McCain is not change. As long as we believe that we have to vote for either a Democrat or a Republican, there will never be change. With an Obama Presidency, we will continue to increase the size of government, have military bases in 130 countries, start new wars, and increase the national debt. McCain will do the same thing.

Other issues are meaningless compared to these issues. It is these issues that have driven us into a hole of epic proportions. They are the reasons why we feel things are headed in the wrong direction. The only candidates that are even interested in these important topics are third-party candidates. Instead of going to the voting booth in November and picking between a giant douche or a turd sandwich, go and vote for an independent candidate who is really about change. Each one of them is better suited to be President than John McCain and Barack Obama combined.