Confrontation First

I am often left stupefied when I delve into political analysis that is different from mine. The process of agreeing with some things while disagreeing with others can be exhausting. Or perhaps it is the nature of the news these days.

Lipstick. 9/11 memorials. Iran war. Sex and Oil. Brittney's Second Second Coming.

I am a vocal Obama supporter. I intend to phone bank for the campaign. I have pursued jobs with the campaign.

In most polls McCain is now leading or tied with Obama, a man who only a few months ago seemed to be running against a certain loser. Yesterday Joe Biden made a passing comment in which he implied that Hillary Clinton, from a campaigning perspective, might have made a better choice for vice president.

Most people have figured out that Sarah Palin is the cause of nearly all of Obama's woes these days. The McCain luster began only after he announced Sarah Palin. In fact, McCain, and Palin, seem to have morphed into brand new people over a two weeks time span.

Part of me wants to shout, "Go for their throats!" Tisk, tisk, wags the index finger of Karl Rove. That's not how we win elections, he taunts. We move laterally, not directly.

It is certainly true that the McCain bunch have encircled the Obama campaign. They are preparing for a feeding frenzy.

For anyone who watched Shark week, you may know that calm, controlled movement is the way to stay alive around sharks. Any erratic flailing or reactionary movements will indicate to the sharks that a swimmer or animal is injured and more easily overcome under attack.

McCain is Bush in a new skin-suit. Karl Rove, who has been dubbed Bush's Brain, is a major behind-the-scenes adviser to John McCain. He is singularly responsible for John McCain's choice to open up to the public more by bringing his personal biography into the campaign strategy.

Obama needs to raise this issue. Karl Rove has ignored a House Judiciary Committee subpoena and is under investigation for possible illegal actions in firing US attorneys. Rove has never been able to explain serious conflict of interest charges for holding stock in companies that he was also helping to secure government contracts. Karl Rove helped develop the illegal war against Iraq. He is certainly responsible for shaping the nasty new face of American political campaign strategy-- exhaustive use of semi-legal slander, focus on artificially constructed issues, and fear-mongering.

Let's look at gas. Yesterday we learned that government oversight employees are actually sleeping with (and snorting cocaine with) oil company agents who are interested in securing government permits to drill. Over the past week several reports have come out showing how the financial speculators and major banks have influenced the rise in the cost of oil, rather than supply and demand. Let's talk about this-- this is, potentially, a reason why Drill Now (one of the GOP candidates' new slogans) does not work. There is no Drill Now because we don't save based on how much we have. Large banking and financial institutions own a percentage of our wallets as long as we continue to drive the way we do, fight wars where and when and how we want, and designate policy based on which companies our top friends work for.

Instead of letting "Country First" hold legitimacy for the McCain team, Obama needs to stress that with McCain it would be Cronies First, and Corporate Oil First by Palin's actions (sorry Polar Bear, BP was here first... err...), and Conflict First while McCain discusses 100 years and billions of dollars for Iraq occupation and a new war in Iran and Pakistan.

The Straight Talk Express may, upon closer inspection, turn out to be the Skewed Distractions Express.