Economy

John McCain has a problem on his hands.  His campaign manager Rick Davis was a well known, prominent lobbyist.  McCain apparently thought that there wouldn’t be a problem having this lobbyist in charge of his campaign.  Turns out he was wrong.

Rick Davis lobbied on behalf of the German owned shipping company DHL in its efforts to buy Airborne Express five years ago.  Because of Davis’ fine work, the deal succeeded.  Airborne Express is based in Wilmington, Ohio.  But now DHL wants to move operations out of Ohio and to Kentucky, which will result in the loss of more than 8,000 jobs in Ohio.

So John McCain has quite the problem.  The man responsible for more than 8,000 lost jobs in the most crucial of swing states is his campaign manager.

McCain is scrambling to address the problem:

In Wilmington on Thursday, McCain promised to hold congressional hearings and send a letter to the CEO of DHL’s parent company, Deutsche Post AG, asking him to meet with the affected workers. 

“I’m deeply troubled by the specter of job loss confronting the town of Wilmington and this entire area, nine counties,” said McCain. “My concerns are being reinforced in my meeting today with those facing the most personal consequences.”

Jobs are a critical issue in economically-struggling Ohio, a swing state that awarded George W. Bush the 2004 election. Wilmington, located in the southwest part of the state, is traditionally a Republican stronghold.

Perhaps it won’t be such a “Republican stronghold” this year.

Delivered today in Youngstown, Ohio.

We meet at a moment when this country is facing a set of challenges unlike any we’ve ever known. Right now, our brave men and women in uniform are fighting two different wars while terrorists plot their next attack. Our changing climate is putting our planet in peril and our security at risk. And our economy is in turmoil, with more and more of our families struggling with rising costs, falling incomes and lost jobs.

So we know that this election could be the most important of our lifetime. We know that the choices we make in November and over the next few years will shape the next decade, if not the century. And central to each of these challenges is the question of what we will do about our addiction to foreign oil. 

Without a doubt, this addiction is one of the most urgent threats we’ve ever faced – from the gas prices that are wiping out your paychecks and straining businesses, to the jobs that are disappearing from this state; from the instability and terror bred in the Middle East, to the rising oceans, record drought and spreading famine that could engulf our planet. 

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Here are the top five reasons why I am voting for Barack Obama:

1. The Economy - In 2009 the United States is projected to have a deficit of more than $480 BILLION.  Our national debt is quickly climbing to $10 TRILLION.  Republicans have run our economy into the ground with their irresponsible fiscal policies, and our children (and their children) will pay the price.  It is no easy task to pay off $10 trillion dollars in debt.  As if our nation’s cash flow problems weren’t enough to be concerned about, the American people aren’t doing so great these days either.  With gas at $4 a gallon, and many foods at all time high prices, many American families are struggling to get by.  Jobs are being lost, and not being replaced.  Paul Krugman posted a graph of employment growth for each president back to Dwight Eisenhower.  Notice the clear difference between the Democrats and the Republicans.  The Republican Party has proven time and time again that they are not good stewards of the economy.  It’s time to go with a Democrat.
2. The Iraq War - The Iraq War was a mistake from day one.  Saddam Hussein was a terrible human being, but he posed little threat to the United States.  He had no weapons of mass destruction; he was surrounded by nations that despised him and would contain him (Israel, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Turkey, Iran - not to mention the American patrolled no fly zones).  Furthermore, Saddam had no role whatsoever in the planning, funding, or execution of the 9/11 attacks.  Yes, the Iraqi people are better off without Saddam Hussein.  But Iraq distracted us from the war we should have been fighting.  It is still distracting us from the war we should be fighting.  The Iraqi government and military can step up and take control of their nation.  It’s time for the United States to withdraw and refocus it’s military efforts where they are most needed.  Barack Obama supports withdrawal in 16 months so that we can do just that.  Which of course brings me to reason 3.
3. The War in Afghanistan - Obama recognizes that Afghanistan is the central front in the War on Terror.  He advocates sending at least an additional two brigades to Afghanistan.  We should have had these extra troops there in the first place.  It is well documented that Osama bin Laden was in Tora Bora when we bombed it, but slipped out through the mountain passes.  We did not have enough troops to adequately secure the area to assure his death or capture.  This is a mistake that will not be made a second time if Barack Obama is president.  On September 11th, 2001 Al Qaeda, on the orders of Osama bin Laden, attacked the United States and killed more than 3,000 people.  in the 7 years since the Bush Administration has failed to capture or kill bin Laden.  It’s clear that Republican priorities are flawed, but John McCain wants to continue those policies.  Barack Obama will capture kill Osama bin Laden because his foreign policy will be focused on Afghanistan and dismantling terror networks, rather than foolish and costly preemptive wars.
4. Health Care - The health care system in the United States is a mess.  Despite spending far more on health care than any other industrialized nation, Americans often receive worse care.  American life expectancy and infant mortality rates have fallen behind other modernized nations.  A major part of the problem is that the lack of quality, affordable health care means that our system focuses on curing an illness rather than preventing it in the first place.  Barack Obama has a health care plan that will give access to quality, affordable health care to every single American.  John McCain does not.  If your health is important to you, the choice in this election is clear.
5. Energy - Our economy and our planet are both in peril and a major reason is our dependence on fossil fuels.  Not only is this an economic and ecological problem, but it is also a national security problem.  We cannot rely on foreign sources of energy and maintain our position as the worlds only superpower.  John McCain’s solution is to drill offshore, drill in Alaska, and drill everywhere else we can put an oil well.  But we can’t drill our way out of this problem.  Barack Obama’s energy plan will guide our nation to energy independence with the use of clean, renewable sources of energy such as wind and solar.

While reading the paper today, I came across a highly disturbing article that I thought everyone should read.

With food prices soaring to unbelievable levels, its not hard to imagine that the college students who are already struggling are in even more need this year than ever. I just never imagined in my lifetime that people in America could go hungry. I know it sounds naive, but I thought hunger was such a thing of the past in this country that the only people not eating were the ones who chose it like a lifestyle (read, Paris Hilton & Kate Moss).

I am disturbed by this article, and I hope you are too.

Deirdre Wilson, a junior at Francis Marion University in Florence, S.C., applied for food stamps in November because her paycheck from a work-study job didn’t stretch far enough to cover her expanding grocery bill.

“Before, when I lived in the dorms, I was on the meal plan,” the 20-year-old said. “Now that I’m in the apartment, I have to pay for food, and I have to pay my cell phone bill. I don’t make enough to pay for both.”

Where are we as a society when we let our students go hungry? Education is the silver bullet for success! With a college education, a person is less likely to go bankrupt, less likely to go to jail, and on average contributes more to society than any other demographic. We need to make sure our students get the care they deserve.

Posted By: Nick

 
Frank Rich used his column in the NYTimes today to slam John McCain… hard.  Focusing primarily on McCain’s lack of economic knowledge and experience, Rich essentially makes the case that our economy can’t afford a McCain Presidency.

“In a time of war,” Mr. McCain said last week, “the commander in chief doesn’t get a learning curve.” Fair enough, but he imparted this wisdom in a speech that was almost a year behind Mr. Obama in recognizing Afghanistan as the central front in the war against Al Qaeda. Given that it took the deadliest Taliban suicide bombing in Kabul since 9/11 to get Mr. McCain’s attention, you have to wonder if even General Custer’s learning curve was faster than his.

As detailed, and brutal, as his attacks on McCain are, I think I most enjoyed the two paragraphs devoted to McCain’s top economic surrogate, Carly Fiorina.

Ms. Fiorina, the ubiquitous new public face of McCain economic policy, adds nothing to the mix beyond her incessant display of corporate jargon, from “trend lines” to “start-ups.” Before she was fired at Hewlett-Packard, its stock had declined 50 percent during her five-plus years in charge. She missed earning projections — by 23 percent in one quarter — much as she now misrepresents both the Obama and McCain records. This month she said Mr. McCain wanted to require insurance plans to cover birth control medications along with Viagra, when in fact he had voted against it.

Ms. Fiorina received a $42 million payout (half in cash) from H.P., according to a shareholders’ subsequent lawsuit. With this inspiring résumé, she now aspires to be Mr. McCain’s running mate. So does the irrepressible Mitt Romney, who actually was a business whiz before serving as Massachusetts’s governor. Beltway wisdom has it that the addition of such a corporate star will remedy Mr. McCain’s fiscal flatulence.

This column is a powerful argument against John McCain.  Read the whole thing, and then give a copy to any friends that say they are going to vote for McCain.

Posted By: Nick

 
OK, maybe not everyone.  But President Bush held a press conference about the economy and Barack Obama gave a speech about Iraq to follow up on his Op-Ed from yesterday.

The President said the economy really isn’t that bad and any problems we do have are the Democrats fault.  Thanks for informing us George.  And then he offered up this wonderful insight:

Bush acknowledged it could take years before opening the Outer Continental Shelf to oil drilling would result in increased U.S. production. But, he said, at least it would put the nation on the right track toward reducing its reliance on imported oil.

Brilliant.  What is it?  6 more months of this guy?  Ugh….

Obama is still talking as I write this, but since the campaign releases advanced copies of the speech (and it’s basically just saying what his NYTimes Op-Ed said) we already know what it’s all about.

“This war distracts us from every threat that we face and so many opportunities we could seize. This war diminishes our security, our standing in the world, our military, our economy, and the resources that we need to confront the challenges of the 21st century….”

“By any measure, our single-minded and open-ended focus on Iraq is not a sound strategy for keeping America safe,” Obama will say, according to excerpts of his prepared remarks.

I’m sure the McCain campaign has an opinion on some (all?) of these issues, but who really cares, right?