final debate, final analysis

To borrow a tired cliche, McCain accomplished too little, too late. He finally came out swinging and bringing up the dubious connections Obama has with people like the terrorist Bill Ayers and Obama's propensity for government largesse. When McCain referred to Obama as "Senator Government" I actually saw a spark of life in their campaign. Unfortunately, a quick joke won't roll back the huge market losses, the bailouts, the high oil prices.

McCain also brought up the issue of school vouchers which are long overdue. Competition between schools for students is necessary because the current educational system is stuck in neutral since the current funding allocation gives high funding to both high and low performing schools. This means that the incentive for a poor performing school to improve is not that great since a lot of funding will dry up if there is too much improvement. If students could choose where the tax money for education went, then school districts would have to treat the students and parents as customers rather than serfs. As it is now the taxpayer is only seen as a dollar amount by the school districts since they are tied to the land via geographical school tax assessment. Vouchers will free the taxpayer from the school district fiefdom, which is long overdue.

Market volatility and political reality

Last week saw people losing over half their portfolio value in one week, and Monday saw the largest absolute increase in the Dow in history, so are happy days here again? The answer is that we will not know until the injection of capital into the financial system is completed. If(and that is a big if) the bailout plan succeeds the velocity of money should increase, which would avoid a depression since a low velocity means money is not being loaned out or used to purchase goods and services.

Even if the bailout succeeds, the political landscape will be changed by the economic realities of the last eight years. The first lesson is that the Republican party cannot claim to be the party of financial responsibility as they have presided over the complete removal of any spending restraint. Secondly, the McCain/Caribou Barbie campaign is in very dire straights with three weeks left in the election. Since early votes are already beginning in some states and will all be starting by next Monday, this last debate is really the final gasp in the campaign. If McCain comes across as badly as he has the last two debates, with stumbling and playing for a tie, prepare for the polls showing Obama up double digits to increase. Is the debate performance going to be too little too late?

Debate Post Mortem

After watching the vice Presidential debate, one must analyze the debate in sections and conclude that there was no runaway winner. The following analysis discussed the debate and what was most noticeable about each part.

I. The opening questions/the economy:

The first two questions showed a very nervous Sarah Palin repeating talking points no matter how far they deviated from the question. For example she was asked about the bailout and talked about her time as mayor and cutting taxes, but never mentioned the bailout. Edge:Biden

II. Foreign policy:

Foreign policy questions were very friendly to Joe Biden, with him utilizing his years of foreign policy experience to talk about the governance in Iran, the prevention of nuclear proliferation, and the need to prevent more atrocities in Darfur. They both agreed on interventionism in Darfur, which seemed like a lot of hot air to me since we already have two wars going on and cannot afford a third. Edge: Biden

III. Personal questions/closing statements:

This area was where Sarah Palin had a chance to narrow the gap with her (whether it is real or not) folksy charm and references to being outside the mainstream of politics. Biden did his usual act of talking about his blue collar roots (whether real or not) and both did an admirable job. Palin came across as very likable with her references to her and her opponents sons both being in Iraq and the graciousness in ending the debate. Edge: Palin

Overall winner: Biden
Biden did what he needed to do, coming across as a seasoned veteran against a neophyte governor. Palin did her best to not hurt her cause, making no mistake and only showing nervousness as the onset and improving performance as the night wore on. Unfortunately when you campaign is sinking like a lead balloon, you need better than a tie if you plan on winning.

Caribou Barbie and The Big Debate

Tonight is the big night when Caribou Barbie debates with Joe Biden, it will be the beauty queen versus the foot eater, hockey mom versus blue collar mansion dweller. Hopefully this debate performance by Caribou Barbie is so bad that it dooms the McCain campaign so this endless election will finally go away.