Obama 2008 Convention Speech

First off I'd like to say that this might be one of the best written and delivered political speeches I have seen in my lifetime. I'm not drinking the Kool-aid but I'll be very surprised if John McCain has anything up his sleeve that makes him look or sound more like the leader of the free world than this guy.

I disagree with the larger share of what Captain O has to say. I don't think the government is the solution to our problems, I don't think that Washington should be the protector of industries we have long since left for greener and smarter pastures. I don't think the government needs to protect the auto industry when they are making the changes to protect themselves. I don't think the government needs to protect us from outsourcing jobs,when we as consumers know that 'outsourcing jobs' really means importing low cost labor to lower the cost of important goods and services for average Americans. For years foreign automakers have been selling more cars in America than American auto makers and that is because they can provide higher quality, higher fuel efficiency and lower prices. While thousands of Americans work for the auto industry, millions of Americans drive cars, when we 'protect' those jobs, we do so at the expense of other American families. The American auto industry will learn to survive as they always have, through good old fashioned American ingenuity. And if we want to help them, we need to make this country the most inviting country in the world in which to do business.

I don't want my government to protect farms, as O says, because farms don't need the kind of protection that he claims to offer. Farms, for the most part in America today aren't owned by mom and pop, they are owned by huge multi-national corporations with huge lobby's. The corn industry alone has an enormous strangle hold on the American political system(try buying a Coke with real sugar); corn subsidies drive world prices to unrealistic places while undercutting competitors in nations that need corn, not for wild eyed fuel strategies, but for food. The farms that are owned by small businesses and families require only the protection of a government that doesn't give hand outs to their enormous corporate competitors.

O claims that he will make the government leaner by stripping out unnecessary programs and streamlining the programs that remain. I'd imagine his definition of 'necessary' differs from mine, but i'm for that plan. I'm also in favor unicorns and the fountain of youth but I'm not voting for a politician that promises me those either.

It's ballsy to threaten a crowd of D's with individual responsibility. A thought that usually sends shivers down their spines. One wonders what the leader of the government can actually do to foster said ideas, if in fact he has any intentions of doing so.

I'm not buying what he's selling but I'll tell you this; If tonight is any hint at the next few months, we're going to find out if I'm wrong.

It's McCain's turn to blow our doors off and I've seen very little that makes me think he has it in him.