A lot has happened in the past weeks: a Vice Presidential debate, two presidential debates, and a finance bill that turned the Secretary of the Treasury into the most powerful member of the cabinet. The markets are still collapsing – now across the globe, not just stateside. Instead of discussing any of these things in depth, I will mention them briefly here:
The VP debate was far and away more entertaining and more enlightening than the first two Presidential debates – it’s sort of a tossup between the Veep debate and the third Pres debate. Joe Biden was succinct and sharp, Sarah Palin was cute but doesn’t know anything about anything and didn’t answer a single question or pronounce a single g at the end of a word (how can anyone think that she would be a good choice for VP?! With McCain at the top of the ticket, you’re essentially voting for him and his replacement after his heart fails two years into his term…).
The 2nd Presidential debate made me realize that Barack Obama is a pensive and incredibly intelligent person that will likely become one of the greatest leaders this country (and the world) has ever seen – if we elect him. It also revealed John McCain to be a bitter, hostile old man that cannot sit for any length of time. How can a man that yells at fellow senators be expected to hold discussions with foreign leaders that disagree with him? He referred to Senator Obama as “that one” during the debate.
The final Presidential debate showed McCain as having learned a great deal about economic policy and how to talk about it (here is where I falter as a Democrat because I am absolutely a fiscal conservative and believe in the power of markets to run efficiently. And yes, I’ve been paying attention to the news, but I, for one, agree with The Economist in thinking that this crisis was caused more by misguided regulation than deregulation. McCain started strong and had lots of energy, but as the debate wore on, McCain seemed to lost both steam and energy, turning back into the crotchety old man we have all grown to know. Obama, again, looked incredibly intelligent and pensive. And he also demonstrated his ability to remain calm and collected despite McCain’s cavalier attitude, half-truths and attempts to get a rise out of him. Watching this debate made me realize how desperately I crave an intelligent President that will weigh his options, make well-thought-out decisions, and not lose his temper.
Another note from the debate, upon answering the question of why their running-mates would be qualified to take over as President, Obama touted Joe Biden’s political accomplishments while McCain seemed only able to say that she is a reformer, fresh, and that he is proud of her. That endorsement really leaves something to be desired.
The “bailout” is being spun and perceived entirely wrong. At its best, it’s an investment that will earn taxpayers a profit in the long-run. At its worst, it’s wasting taxpayer dollars on self-important sultans of excess that will eventually cost close to $1,000,000,000,000. What it’s turning into is a hastily thrown together plan that grants one man incredible financial power and discretion – while causing little boost to public or market confidence in the economy. Here’s the deal: the markets are driven almost entirely by perception – people need to stop panicking and allow the market its usual ebb and flow. Sure, this is a down time, and the whole world seems to be falling apart, but things will turn around. That’s what the market does. Have faith in it. Give the recovery plan some time to work. It’s a long-term fix, so in the short-term, have some confidence. Thank goodness I’m not retiring any time soon…
What I’d really like to talk about is the fact that the campaigns and the debates have really made me start to dislike both candidates. I think there is something terribly wrong with our ridiculous two party system. Here are some suggestions to improve the American political system:
Create Campaign Term Limits
I know left
Modify the Two Party System
This is related to the campaign time limits. If there is a time limit to the campaigns, there can no longer be a ridiculously long primary season. I see two potential changes to be made here:
1) Instead of eliminating candidates in the primary season, allow all of the candidates to run in the general election. They can remain Republican and Democrat. That’s fine. Let the Republicans run Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Mike Huckabee, John McCain and the rest. Let the Democrats run Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Bill Richardson, and anyone else. This way, the extreme right can have their candidate, the extreme left can have theirs, and the vast majority of voters – those that fall somewhere in the middle – can get back the political clout they deserve. Sure, there are a lot of potential issues with this: how many people can run? Who decides who can run? Won’t the far left/right win out if there are too many people in the middle? How will the debates work? etc, but it would certainly make for a more interesting general election…
2) Get a big name Democrat (Hillary) and a big name Republican (Romney) to run as representatives of lesser parties or as independents. This way there would be four legitimate candidates for president. Other parties can join the fray as well, giving progressives, conservatives, leftists, rightists, isolationists, libertarians, separatists … everyone can potentially be represented.
In a perfect world (the world inside my head), the multi-party system would include debates between all of the candidates, last four to six months, and force candidates to focus on issues. In a race between more than two people, policy issues become paramount. Again, though, there would have to be lots of oversight and regulation to prevent candidate collaboration, coordinated attacks of leading candidates, etc.
Born of this idea (and one that I haven’t really fleshed out): force the elected official to choose his/her VP from the pool of presidential candidates. Just a thought.
Eliminate the Electoral College
There are arguments both for and against this idea, but they focus on a two party system of elections. In an election with six or more people vying for President, the Electoral College becomes a completely ridiculous idea. I tend to agree with the Founders that the general public probably is not intelligent enough to elect their leader, but the multi-party system would necessitate its elimination. Let’s make
Bring Back Real Debates
Enough with the coddling of candidates in national debates. It’s embarrassing to watch moderators toss up easy questions only to have the candidates dodge them and respond with scripted, barely related answers. How about letting moderators go after candidates for dodging questions. Or, better yet, let the candidates go at each other, debating about issues. Another thought: have a ticker across the bottom of the screen doing real-time fact checking – we have the technology. Fox News can run its version of the “facts,” CNN can run liberal facts, and PBS can run the Truth. Watching Obama and McCain trade falsities without anyone correcting them was painful. The entire debate was painful. Bring out all of the candidates (we’re in a multi-candidate system, remember) on stage, and let them duke it out, primary debate style. Now those were entertaining – candidates showing emotion, getting passionate, calling each other out, fighting about policy … bring that kind of energy to the actual election.
