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If this past holiday weekend reminded Americans of anything, it's the fact that the economy is slumping. It means the two presumptive presidential nominees have a lot of work to do. Convincing the American people you've got the magic bullet to right the US economic ship is a tall order. 

John McCain has the task of making people forget his statement earlier in the campaign that he's no expert when it comes to the economy. Expect Barack Obama to touch on that more than once this week, as both of them present their economic visions to the nation. McCain is also, rightly or wrongly, associated with the economic policies of President Bush. Those policies aren't very popular right now, and Bush doesn't seem to have a clue how to reverse the current slide.

Barack Obama, on the other hand, can't afford to be painted as a candidate who will raise taxes for new economic programs. That's what you'll be hearing from the McCain camp. Obama also must get past last week's criticisms that he's moving away from some of the progressive positions that got him this far.

He's also got to face the reality that McCain, in shaking up his campaign staff and elevating proteges of Karl Rove, will be taking the gloves off. They'll be seeking to erode what's perceived as Obama's advantage in dealing with the economy. With job losses, home foreclosures, and rising gas prices knocking the American people for a loop, both of these folks have their work cut out for them.

Let's hope they come with substance, not style.

Fear Itself

I'm finally shaking off the lingering effects of a cold, but throughout there's been something troubling me. I meant to write about it at the beginning of the week, but it's still quite relevant.

John McCain's chief foreign policy guy Charlie Black took quite some heat for saying a terror attack on US soil would be "a big advantage" for his man. Since then, a number of pundits have written pieces saying, essentially, that Charlie Black was right. Let's follow that logic for a second, and suppose there is no way the US could actually control the timing of such an attack. What would be the next best thing, something the US, that is the Bush Administration, could control?

Well, how about a military strike against another country? That the administration could control. And, if the New Yorker's Seymour Hersh is to be believed, there are already plans on the drawing board. Against whom, you ask? Iran, of course!

According to Hersh, who's writing on the subject has always been first rate, there's already been about $400 million dollars allocated for a covert destabilization program against the country's religious leadership. He further writes that despite misgivings on the part of America's top military leadership, the Bush people seem fixated on regime change in Iran, by military force if necessary.

If it were to come prior to the November election, how would the candidates respond? Keep in mind there would likely be some event used as a catalyst for such an action. Could Barack Obama oppose a military strike against Iran against a wave of patriotic fervor? Or would the American people create a backlash against such a strike that would doom anyone who supported it (like McCain)?

Just thinking. 

Still Sick

Still sick today. Hope to be back tomorrow.

Mark