The first of 4 Presidential debates took place today and I watched most of it at Pace University in New York City. It was a very pro-Obama crowd as one would expect at a university in New York. I am against both of these parties because neither of them are speaking any sense and that was on display at the debate. I may have been the only person in support of a third-party candidate at the event.

The two candidates argued over a variety of issues including the economy and foreign policy. Neither of them would say whether they were in support of the $700 billion bailout. They just danced around the question when all they needed to say was yes or no. The majority of Americans are against this bailout bill and obviously neither of these candidates have the balls to take a stance knowing that the bill is unpopular and if they do nothing the economy will collapse. The economy will collapse whether this bill gets passed or not but, it is a lot harder to spin the collapse if they take a concrete position. I appreciated the moderator’s attempts to get the candidates to provide a solid answer but it was to no avail–in the end, McCain gave a half-hearted “sure”.

While some people may say that there is a real difference between these two candidates, this debate clearly demonstrated that there is not. McCain started talking about earmarks and pork barrel spending that–according to Obama–totaled $21 billion dollars. Clearly that is chump change with the Iraq War and all these bailouts and welfare programs. McCain then accused Obama of some million dollar earmarks for things of no matter while Obama dissected McCain’s tax cuts for the rich.

On the surface that might seem like a difference but, it is not. Neither candidate is willing to actually cut any spending. McCain proposed a spending freeze except for the war, veterans benefits, and welfare programs. My question it, exactly what spending are you freezing? The two biggest parts of our budget is the war and welfare programs. A spending freeze on useless things is not going to make a difference. Obama, instead of asking McCain the question I would have, argued against a spending freeze and basically danced around the idea of changing his plans to account for this $700 billion bailout if it passes.

Yea, they are so different. They both want to ensure that we continue spending ourselves into oblivion and maintain troops in 130 countries. Totally different candidates for sure.

On the foreign policy front, both candidates agreed that Russia was the aggressor and evildoer in the conflict against Georgia. I’ve written about that topic and clearly showed that the real story is that Georgia attacked two independent territories with a lot of Russian citizens and Russia merely protected its own people. McCain even told a story where he said he was in that area and saw a poster with Putin’s picture and a caption that read, “He is our President”. Yea, that is correct. The people living in that area associate themselves with Russia and not Georgia. Georgia attacked innocent people and Russia was just protecting them. Granted, Russia should not have invaded Georgia but, by no means is Georgia innocent.

The debate over war in the middle east was also nonsensical. Somehow we are soon going to attack Pakistan and Iran for no reason at all. Both candidates are willing to extend war into any and every country in the region. It is on this issue that I agree with Obama the most. We should leave Iraq and we certainly should never have gone in. However, I would take our troops out of every country and neither candidate is willing to consider that.

And of course, both candidates are trying to show how the American people are in support of their view on the war. Apparently, both candidates have a bracelet with a deceased soldier’s name on it. I don’t want to belittle the duty of our armed forces but, it was of some hilarity to see that both candidates had this same card under their sleeves and used it at the same time. Different? Looks the same to me.

All in all, the debate was a big waste of time. These candidates are not different. They are going to continue on the same course we are on now. There is no change and there is no maverick. And if you didn’t know–and a lot of people apparently do not–there are four other candidates in the running: Barr, Baldwin, McKinney, and Nader. You might want to consider a second choice because McCain and Obama is really the same choice.

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.

This might be premature–by definition it is–but, the Democrats have squandered a chance handed to them on a silver platter to put themselves in the Oval Office. With the horrible decisions that the Bush administration has made in the last 7 years, who was going to vote for more Republican control? Comparing the candidates of the two parties during the primaries made it almost crystal clear that the Democrats had the strongest candidates and the strongest candidate: Hillary Clinton.

If I had to pick a candidate for the Democrats, I would have chosen Kucinich. If we are talking about candidates who the media actually allowed to have a chance, I’d pick Obama. I don’t like either party so this is an exercise in picking crap amongst crap. The world practically worships the ground Obama walks on. Thousands of people gather to hear him speak when he is in foreign nations! He isn’t running to rule the world–at least that’s not in his tag line.

The first error the Democrats made was to nominate Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton. From a purely political strategy point of view, Clinton was a much better candidate to handle the only Republican left in the race: John McCain. Clinton is a stronger  candidate and is just better at playing the game.

Obama’s message of “change” has completely deteriorated. No one knows what change he is talking about. There is no substance behind the message. It didn’t have much substance to begin with but, as the campaign wore on, Obama’s views became less and less different than the political status quo.

To add insult to injury, Obama selects Joe Biden to be his Vice President. What? Biden had a shot to be the Democratic presidential candidate 1988 but, dropped out of the race because of a citation confusion when he was a law student? That was the best dirt they could dig up on him and he cowered to it? Of course, Biden has since become a part of the political establishment in Washington. Why would the messiah of change choose Joe Biden as the VP if Obama was really the “change candidate”? Obama’s entire brand and image has fallen out the window.

On the flip-side, McCain has had a reputation–for years–for being a maverick. In reality, the man is not so radical. He is only radical in the sense that he is really more liberal than he is conservative. McCain isn’t going to drastically change anything either but, he has the image going for him. He is a terrible speaker and lost that Straight Talk Express bravado that the media gave him in 2000. Up until McCain picked Sarah Palin to be his Vice President, I was still convinced that the completely uncharismatic John McCain and this historically low approval rating Republican Presidency would give the Democrats the White House in November.

Sarah changed everything. I’m not just going by the media buzz about Sarah Palin. When I first read this completely unknown name in the headlines, I felt it. The Republicans just did something few people expected. They picked a young, unknown, female candidate for the Vice Presidency. I didn’t know who she was, where she was from, or anything and I also didn’t care.

The hardcore Democrats are going to give you a million reasons why Sarah is unqualified for the job. All those reasons are meaningless to the majority of the voters. You don’t need to have served public office your entire life to be qualified. The liberals are literally eroding their own image of change by attacking Sarah in this fashion. Because she is so young and apparently so unqualified, she is also the perfect person to actually enact change. She isn’t going to but, neither was Obama. It really is just a marketing game.

Sarah Palin has won the hearts and minds of millions of voting Americans this week. I don’t agree with a lot of what she said in her speech because it was towing party line but, she is a great speaker. She is easily likable. Her limited public office experience in the far away state of Alaska gives her the image of being the farthest thing from the political establishment in Washington.

I can’t help but like Sarah. I dislike both the Democrats and the Republicans because they are so similar but, it is hard to dislike Sarah right now. Marketing is a damn powerful tool. I won’t be voting for McCain/Palin this November but, I’m willing to bet enough people are that we’ll see them in the White House in 2009. With this one political move, the Republicans have literally turned the tables on the Democrats. The person with the most believable image of change amongst the four is Sarah Palin and she is why the Democrats lost in 2008.