Crushed by the Elephant

-In this post, I have a few controversial and probably way off line opinions I state, so if you're politically- sensitive or easily frustrated and unable to "agree to disagree" like Mark J, then please don't read this. I don't mind debating, but I don't feel like being thrashed or arguing.

     Alrighty, here we go. In these past days a new major problem has hit center stage. The Dow Jones has lost about 22% in 8 trading days, which is the worst the Dow has ever seen in it's history. The final day of a very painful week came in roller-coaster fashion. Shortly after opening, the Dow plunged to -697, and was turbulent all day long, up and down. It hit it's highest point at about +322, at which time the traders on the floor broke out into spontaneous cheer. That's an unprecedented swing of over 1000pts. That shows this economy is one ruled by fear. If one fears a bank will close, through mass hysteria (and just how humans are) we collectively panic, and everyone with a right mind sells whatever part of thaqt company that they own so that their investments in that company don't go to waste. The more that sell, the lower the price of a "share" in that company goes. It follows the laws of supply and demand. Less demand, lower price, right? The idea of a stock market crash is considered a self-fulfilling prophecy. The worse the stock market does, the more people try to sell their stock. The more that sell, the lower the stocks go. 

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This crisis has reached a fever pitch among voters. It's taken place of the War in Iraq as the most important issue, and accordingly, has become the most talked about issue among both major candidates. This came after a week where traders were broken, the the stock market of Russia was shut down for one day after a loss of 19%. Rules are in place for the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) to halt trading for one hour if the market ever falls 10% below during the course of a trading day. If you do the math, it's easy to see that this is more likely to happen now than it was just one year ago. This time last year, the NYSE had an average point value of 14,000. A 10% loss would have required a point loss of 1400 in one day. Not an easy thing to do. Today? It takes but 860 points, a number we've come within 50 points of hitting. Through the crisis, both presidential campaigns have sought to spin their plans to Americans and convince them that their plan is better. Naturally, though this isn't necessarily a belief of mine, because John McCain is more easily tied to George W. Bush and his purported economic policy failures, John McCain suffers in a time like this. People turn to him asking what he has to offer, but then ignore the "meat and potatoes" of his plan, as he is a republican. There it is, guilty by association. In general, people turn to Obama's economic plans, which include taxing companies that outsource American labor and providing tax cuts to Americans earning <$250000/yr. However, if you really look into McCain's plan, it attempts to accomplish many of the same things, with the exception of the tax bracket based tax cut. It instead proposes tax cuts across the board, with cuts in spending, as the Obama plan intends as well. This brings me to my point -- I agree with many ideals that McCain does, as well. My largest criticism of the Obama camp is the legalization of abortion (EXCEPT in the event that the mother's life is in danger, or other extenuating circumstances. My largest criticism of the McCain camp is their plan on the War in Iraq. We need out. You can't defeat a religion (radical Islam) and it's costing us way too much. I wouldn't consider this a loss, we've just bitten off well more than we can chew. I strongly oppose an immediate withdrawal as Obama once proposed. Leaving the country within 60 days of his inauguration would be devastating. Let's give it a little longer. Other than that, I can't immediately point out where I hate the McCain camp. Until you get to Sarah Palin. I've never seen a more "mavericky" hockey mom. I still scratch my head wondering what the hell McCain was thinking when he picked this monster. She doesn't believe in global warming, which, sorry Kerianne, but is a major strike to me, and she echoes the words, "drill baby drill" without a mention of alternative energy. Even MCCAIN has alternative energy plans. In my opinion, Palin is one of the major strikes on the McCain ticket. It's my firm belief though, that picking Palin as his running mate, was a way that McCain showed a major weakness. Palin is the personified right-wing radical. McCain is not. McCain is one of the most moderate members of the senate that still designates himself a republican. McCain only holds true to the "republican" ideals of no gay marriage (but he fully supports gay rights like a married couple, and, in case you didn't know, Obama feels the same) and he is adamant against abortion except under certain health circumstances I mentioned before, such as health. McCain isn't as conservative as many think, which brings me to the title. McCain was crushed by the elephant. The republican elephant. I believe his choice in Sarah Palin exhibits this clearly. He wasn't strong enough to revolutionize the face of the party by stamping on his ideals, and instead caved in in picking a radical such as Palin. This might have been in an ill-advised attempt to gain Clinton's patrons, but obviously is hasn't worked, and McCain awakes today against a poll deficit of about 10 points. Perhaps it's just the category that has done McCain in up to now. 

Many of you probably think I'm an absolute moron. Let's not argue, but please, I'm really interested to know what you all have to think about the topic. Please comment.