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December 22, 2008 –
Loyal M/I readers might have noticed a little anomaly this election
cycle: M/I never endorsed a candidate.
I stand by that lack of endorsement.
The reason that there was no endorsement this
go-round was this: that while Barack Obama was clearly the
better choice than John McCain, Obama's lack of record and lack of
detail - often hit upon by both Clinton and McCain - did not, and
have not up until this point, given enough information to, with the
certain confidence need, say to M/I readers, "This is a candidate
you absolutely can trust to be able to do the job and do it right."
It is a new era, and so it is a new place for M/I.
The role of the canary screaming, "The economy/country is about to
die," in the American coalmine of the Bush era is still somewhat
relevant. There is a lot about the current state of things
still not being grasped clearly or fully. The financial
collapse that really has barely just begun - the depths to which we
are likely about to fall - still isn't really understood.
However, thus far, Barack Obama has been
exceptionally on point. Yesterday's announcement that Vice
President-elect Biden will serve as a "working families czar" is the
most important positive news the nation has seen in a generation.
The real reason for the economic collapse is not bad mortgages, nor
high gas prices, nor... The reason the economy is collapsing is
because, for a generation, the middle class in America has not been
able to make ends meet. Even with two incomes replacing one,
people are using debt just to get by, never mind to make larger
purchases in a manner never seen before.
And Joe Biden, a man of true middle-class ilk, is
such a change from the rich, corporate types that tend to dominate
both parties that he stands uniquely in a position to truly lead and
moderate the discussion; and has the moxy to guide things swiftly
and strongly toward the sort of decisive action that might actually
correct the true core of America's current issues.
Maybe.
And yet, this wonderful news is rivaled by the daily
trickle of stories making clear that, unlike Kerry, who briefly
mentioned making alternative energy a top priority only to forget it
about five minutes later, Barack Obama is truly making an all out
push against global warming and for a new green economy that weans
us off oil and out of the Middle East his top priority. The
simple, common-sense solution to America's economic, environmental,
and national security issues, as obvious as it is, is still one very
few candidates would truly keep as front and center after an
election as Obama has. Whether picking top Global Warming
alarmists for high-level positions, or working the greening of
America into the auto industry bailout, Barack Obama is throwing his
gauntlet down, just as promised.
So far.
And what some are seeing as bad news, the inviting of
Rick Warren to give the inaugural invocation, at M/I it is viewed as
great news. As a nation, we have got to stop hating those with
different opinions. We need to get back together under one
tent. Barack Obama burst onto the national stage with a speech
given at the 2004 Democratic Convention in which he issued the
rallying cry, "There are no blue states, there are no red states,
there's only the United States." In order to fix America's
current bi-polar situation in which differing opinions require
hatred, name calling, and ostracizing, Obama is inviting us to all
come back together in this trying time for our nation - liberals,
moderates, and, yes, arch-conservatives.
Point. Point. Point.
Uniting America, fixing the macroeconomic situation,
and, dealing with something no economist, analyst, or body of
government has acknowledged exists since Regan set economics on its
ear, fixing America's microeconomic situation. Yes, the Obama
administration, as it is shaping up, appears to have all the right
priorities.
And let me just take a moment to put appropriate
stress on that last economic point. The reason basically every
economist, analyst, and politician failed to see this economic
collapse coming has been due to something no one has yet to
acknowledge or correct: that all of economic theorem and
discussion over the past thirty years has been flawed due to its
sole focus on the macroeconomic, and complete belittling and
ignoring of the microeconomic. There was headline in the
Chicago Tribune back in the late 1990's which read, "Wages Begin to
Inch Up; Stock Market Tumbles." You see, it was the supposed
Dot Com Boom. Companies were making fortunes. Stocks
were soaring. But by the supply-side economic school that all
sides accepted without challenge, even a slight increase in the
average worker's wage was seen as a bad sign - it would lead to
inflation; and so stocks tanked on the news.
In reality, rising wages should cause rising stocks,
as people will have increased purchasing power, and their purchasing
power makes up 2/3 of the economy. This backward thinking,
anti-wage, pro-corporate-earnings bent, as expressed in this Tribune
headline, exactly laid out the path to our current collapse.
And until this day, no one has as much as questioned the flawed
dictum, never mind acted to change it.
And yet, it still is not time to endorse Barack Obama.
Not that endorsements matter at this point. But what does
matter is that it is one thing to realize what needs to be done.
It is another to truly know how to do it. And it is yet
another to have what it takes turn that knowledge into plans.
And, beyond all of this, it is yet another thing to be able to
implement it in reality.
These are the things we still can not know if Barack
Obama is capable of. It remains to be seen if he truly can
sail America's ship. But it can't help but bring
Beethoven-level joy to those of us who love America more than life
itself to see the new skipper step up to the deck and correctly call
for the ship to be turned in the direction that will, if sailed,
bring America back home.
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