What's At Stake: The Future vs The Past

I watched the first presidential debate last week with friends in Sydney where I was on a State Department speaking tour to explain US politics to Australian audiences. One of my co-viewers was Don Russell, a former Aussie Ambassador to the US and chief political advisor to the former Labor Prime Minister. Don espoused the theory that the determining factor in the presidential race will be the extent of HD penetration in American households.

Russell argues that John McCain looks really, really old in High Definition, and that the more voters who watch the next two debates in HD, the better Obama will do. It's an intriguing theory, and probably not without some merit--and some enterprising reporter or reader might want to check out the actual extent of HD coverage.

Watching in HD or not, John McCain does look like the old guy in the race, and Obama the fresh face. For some older voters, McCain's age is a plus--the experience factor. He's been around Washington, DC a long time, and might know more than newcomer Obama; certainly, that has been one of his campaign's main arguments.

For me and many others, it is not just about McCain's age (although surely it is of added concern with Sarah Palin standing on deck in the VP circle). It is about his ideas and what he stands for. The moto of the 2008 election should be: It's The Future, stupid.

Of course, the economy is the most single important issue now in voters' minds and the political struggle in DC over the financial bailout and the drop in the stock market only heightens public concern. How voters perceive each candidate's response to the financial crisis--how each man acts, how each explains the situation, and how each proposes to reform the economy once in the White House--will largely determine who is the next President of the United States. But more is at stake in this contest than simply reining in the excesses of Wall Street.

The 2008 election is a choice between the past and the future--and the choice will affect America's fortunes at home and abroad for generations to come.

John McCain is more than the oldest candidate to run for President. His ideas are old--stale, inadequate to the times, and proven failures. Yes, he is a man of some honor and courage who wants what is best for his country--but to listen to him in the first debate is to hear how stuck he is in the past. He spoke of Eisenhower, of Vietnam, of the aging and irrelevant Henry Kissinger, and most frequently of Ronald Reagan. As a self-declared "foot soldier in the Reagan Revolution", he is a firm believer in Reaganomics--the belief that cutting taxes and cutting government regulations will lead to economic growth and greater prosperity.

Recent events have made clear (if it wasn't already self evident) that such policies lead to greater inequality, stagnant wages, and greater economic volatility--a prescription for a weaker not a stronger American society. The stated beliefs of his choice for VP Sarah Palin are backward looking: anti-women, anti-science, anti-progressive.

In foreign policy, McCain wants to put the failed Bush doctrine on steroids. He calls for a League of Democracies that would bypass the UN and exclude Russia and China, two nations that need to become stake holders in the international system, not excluded from it. This is a recipe for repeating the mistakes of the 20th century--first economic depression, then world war. His position on Iraq: stay until "victory" is achieved, is simply repeating the mistakes of Vietnam. In some ways, he is simply refighting the Vietnam War in a different setting--bogged down in sand instead of mud.

While in Australia, I had dinner and a long talk with Paul Keating, one of the must successful Prime Ministers in recent decades. Keating led the reform of the Australian economy, dramatically opening it to the world while building a world class social safety net to allow Australians the security to compete globally. He also started new initiatives in Asia, and built up the country's ties to China while maintaining good relations with the US. He helped President Clinton see the value of APEC, and the utility of gathering the leaders of Asian and Pacific nations each year for group and bi-lateral talks.

Keating despairs for America and our role in the world if McCain is elected. In a recent poll, almost three-quarters of Australians want Barack Obama to be the next President of the US.

Some of my liberal Republican friends (a dying breed to be sure) argue that the "real John McCain" will emerge once he is in the White House--and that he will turn out to be a genuine liberal Republican. Unfortunately, there is little evidence in this campaign and his stated positions to support that thin reed of hope. Check out Jeffrey Goldberg's article "Why War is His Answer--Inside the Mind of John McCain" in the October issue of The Atlantic for a detailed exposition of why the optimists for McCain are misguided. All of his key foreign policy advisors think that Bush has been right about the world, just that he didn't execute his unilateralist policies well enough. McCain will somehow do it better.

On the domestic front, McCain might be checked by a Democratic Congress, but I doubt that he has the flexibility of Govenor Arnold to reinvent himself as a Green reformer. McCain will get angry facing off against Pelosi and Reid, and the result will be stalemate and drift. McCain's erratic behavior last week during the financial meltdown--one day the economy is sound, the next day he wants to fire the head of the SEC, the next day he "suspends" his campaign and returns to inject Presidential politics into the negotiations. His intercession seems to have made matters worse on Capitol Hill, not better--a likely preview of a McCain Presidency.

As a former supporter of Senator Clinton, I firmly believe that Barack Obama understands, while McCain does not, that America's future is at stake in this election--and that Reaganomics at home and aggressive unilateralism abroad are not the right answers.

If Obama is elected President to govern with a Democratic Congress--one in which conservative sourtherners will no longer dominate-- there will be an historic opportunity to stem the tide of rising inequality in American society, to reform the American economy, to regulate it fairly and smartly, and to build a social safety net for the 21st Century that includes portable pensions, universal health care, early childhood education and community-based educational reform, and greater scientific innovation, especially in creating more jobs in the "green economy." Such reforms would strengthen America to move forward in this globalized world without impoverishing the majority of our citizens. Progressive groups and an activist Congress would be essential partners in creating what I call a New American Compact--in effect, a new New Deal.

Abroad, the election of Obama would be greeted not only with a sign of relief, but with a great deal of hope. Polls at home and abroad show that citizens around the globe believe that an Obama Presidency could help significantly to restore American moral prestige and leadership in international affairs. Certainly, the election of a President of African-American descent would signal that the US has finally moved beyond its racial past, and provide an outpouring of optimism about the nature of American society. As President,, Barack Obama would have to made difficult decisions about matters of war and peace, climate change, and global economic reform--but I am convinced that he would look to the future not the past in making his choices, and that he would deploy a considerable stable of talented Americans, including Al Gore, Bill Clinton, John Kerry and others, to help him find allies to craft a global New Deal--to be an FDR for the 21st Century.

If elected President, Obama might signal his intentions by canceling the the traditional Inaugural parties and balls for wealthy contributors, ask Hollywood celebrities not to jet in to DC, and instead turn Inauguration week into a national conversation on Ideas for Change. He could ask a new generation of innovative thinkers for their ideas on the content of a new American Compact, and energize citizens through online forums, and encourage them to participate with Congress in reforming and renewing American society from DC and Wall Street down to the neighborhoods of Main Street.

My optimistic, California-bred nature sometimes kicks in and I get excited by the possibilities, once more, of building a better America--but I am realist. It will take a lot of hard work, and lot of cleaning up the mess created by the incompetence and mendacity of the Bush-Cheney era. Electing Obama offers the promise of a better future. McCain will only continue the sad ways of the past. The choice seems very stark and very clear: the past vs the future.

Comments

[GrainOSand]

Obama as politician

When you said change and hope, I said nope, nope, nope!
I have heard it all before.
I was planning to sit this one out, cheer for Hillary from the sidelines, as I have done before.
Yet the more I listened to you talk and the more I saw the difficult road you had to travel in your walk to lead, I became inspired, something awoke in me.
Here we are after so much has transpired and you stand on the cusp.
America is in trouble, this is not time for compromise, for survive and thrive we must.
Survival of a challenged nation requires a visionary leader not someone who is just glad to be there, not someone who collaborates with evil.
I know, I know, you must do certain things within the game you play.
It is my hope that once you win like at Burger King, the people can have it their way.
We have had it the way of the war, fear, and hatemonger for the longest time.
How many have perished waiting on a better America, thinking, when will it be time?

[GrainOSand]

Fortunes have been, will be, and are being made; there is nothing wrong with prosperity.
Fortune has never been the measurement to take for a nation on its level of commitment and sincerity to the idea of being great.
The shadows grow long and the hour has gotten late.
Life goes on and each shall meet their fate.
Of this, there can be no denial.
We all carry a burden, and we all face a trial.
Of nation, we ask that you provide an environment where all can grow.
Of nation, we ask that you never send us to defend something evil and low.
Of nation, we ask that you call upon us, any of us -- to help nation be nation.
Of nation, we ask that you not prey upon us and cause bankruptcy, foreclosure, recession, poverty, inflation and stagnation, an invitation to fail.
We ask that nation not take us to, or be an environment of -- painful, shameful, disdainful, shirking responsibility and not taking blame for, manifesting living HELL!
…And this has been my silent scream, my passionate plea, my mellow muse, my determined dissent, my respectful -- rebel yell!

[Beachrunner]

"If elected President, Obama might signal his intentions by canceling the the traditional Inaugural parties and balls for wealthy contributors, ask Hollywood celebrities not to jet in to DC, and instead turn Inauguration week into a national conversation on Ideas for Change."

Too funny! Obama is going to continue to soak those useful idiots.

You have to laugh; the very people Obama is going to double taxes on are the ones who support him.

Don't you think Obama is secretly laughing his behind off? I do.

[jondcarpenter]

--Continued:

Finally, you contrast the appearace of McCain with Senator Obama, who came off as the “fresh face” who can restore America’s standing in the world. You observe how he can become the face of change, and of the future, not only with regard to his policies, but as the first black President, he would “signal that the US has finally moved beyond its racial past.”

While I found this post extremely intriguing, well-structured and convincing, I would still offer the caveat to Mr. Shearer, and other Obama supporters, that perhaps we sometimes go too far in stressing matters unrelated to public policy. Perhaps your post could have focused entirely on how McCain’s outlook on the issues is backward-looking and outdated, instead of gettind muddled in some of the distractions about age. Pointing out that McCain “looks like the old guy in the race” and that he looks “really, really old in High Definition” does not have much to do with why he should or should not be the next President. I think that the same points could be made, including the “past versus the future” thesis, simply through an examination of where they stand on the most serious challenges facing the United States and the world. In doing so we can improve the quality of political discourse, and focus on what really matters – and that’s everything Barack Obama can do to help this country, regardless of age.

--Jon Carpenter, jondcarpenter.blogspot.com

[jondcarpenter]

I appreciate your insightful post on the increasingly distinct roles each candidate has taken in this election. Your examination of their approach to and behavior during the debate Friday night reflects what many Americans are discussing: Is John McCain too old and too out of touch to understand what’s happening today, and where the country needs to be taken? At face value, answering this question may have more to do with basic identity politics, yet in your analysis you offer the compelling argument that such a difference in this case – young versus old, past versus future – has genuine policy-making ramifications. While I am generally hesitant to encourage discussion of otherwise unrelated facts, such as age, I think you make a good point in arguing that McCain’s performance at the debate was somewhat indicative of someone whose mindset is largely focused on past events. I like that you addressed specific instances in which he turned the conversation away from today, to topics including Eisenhower, Vietnam and Henry Kissinger. I especially appreciated your discussion the idea that “in some ways, he is simply refighting the Vietnam War in a different setting.” At the debate he made statements comparing Iraq with Vietnam, suggesting that unlike the first war, we must not return home in defeat this time. Accordingly, it raises the question of, to what extent has Senator McCain let personal experience play a role in his decision making?

[BarackMarley]

McCain is definitely caught up in the past. He called the Bin Laden led mujahadeen 'Freedom Fighters' in the debate 20 years after Reagan did. Did he forget the lessons of 9/11?

Read the Story Here
http://www.newsone.com/elections/article/mccain-called-bin-laden-a-freedom-fighters

[curious2know]

speaking of the past... has anyone seriously looked over what happened with what is documented as the Keating 5? Speaking about history repeating itself. Appears McCain is again assisting the 6 figure guys and having the lower class foot the bill. Are we not still paying for the debt that was created then or have we paid off that debt????? No one is perfect, but stealing is just out right low.

[ChessWhore]

"His position on Iraq: stay until "victory" is achieved, is simply repeating the mistakes of Vietnam. In some ways, he is simply refighting the Vietnam War in a different setting--bogged down in sand instead of mud."
...The field is a sea of mud, we can't see the numbers of the players, and all the action seems to be in the mud in the middle of the field.

[All in All]

Derek Shearer, well said. I know You don't need to hear that from Me, however since You thought-out & typed-up all of these issues that come with this Election & the Candidates running for the Presidency; What the *Bleep*, Great Job,Well said, indeed!

[odyssey58]

Yes, this election is about whether we want a new and (hopefully) different future or do we stay stuck in the past with ideas that are clearly flawed. If jmc is elected the rest of the world will know that we are truly insane, especially if we expect different results the same old policies.

[DarthVector]

Paul Keating was a real maverick, unlike McCain. Watch him fight for working people against the conservatives here...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKN4qWo7x1Y&feature=related

pure political comedy gold, from a man who knew how to rip bullsh*t apart with his bare heart.

[MsIKnowBetter]

Excellent article! This certainly appeals to our better natures. We must step past the ancient policies that the McCain Palin ticket sets forth.

[8IZENUF]

I have to agree, during the debate listening to McCain I thought I was having a history lesson. And he did not seem to know what he was suppose to learn from those times. Did he think those were the good days, or is he a name dropper. It's good to know that the world will accept us back once we elect a leader with the best diplomacy.

Obama/Biden '08