Dartblog

Do accept my apologies for my absence from the board. I took some time off during the beginning of this term to head to Poland for a human rights conference. It was certainly an interesting and educational experience, but I am very glad to be back in lovely Hanover. The leaves are falling and the air has that crispness of fall. It is a lovely time for apple picking or for politicking. The latter has of course been keeping me busy. It seems that since I left, John McCain has fallen behind in most polls in New Hampshire. While I can understand this phenomenon, I am growing weary of the seemingly irrational views of voters.

New Hampshire is McCain territory. His views align well with their motto of “live free or die”. I’m not sure if Obama has completely fooled these voters with his charming ability to read a teleprompter or if this is perhaps the direct result of an influx of college students changing the political landscape of the state. Certainly Obama does not satisfy the “live free or die” motto. In reality, he is very much the opposite of what New Hampshire voters have always preferred. He likes big government, federal mandates, and expansion of entitlement programs. He likes taxes and pervasive economic intrusion on the part of the government. How does this jibe with a state that prides itself on its lowest tax burden in the nation and local control?

It does not. The Obama candidacy is a fad made worse by the brilliant job he has done of selling himself under the mantle of hope while revealing little of his true political ideology. His charm and obfuscation of the facts make him a dangerous candidate for our democracy. Not only has he made severe errors in judgment with regards to foreign policy, most recently with regards to Russian aggression in Georgia, he is peddling hope that he can not provide. Like a healer traveling through prairie towns selling some magical formula, Obama has sold himself as the man to cure the problems of the downtrodden and neglected in this country. I fear, however, that four years of an Obama administration will only deepen the economic crisis and will be counter to our national security. Such a disastrous reality would only prove to his newly mobilized and once disaffected people that the government does not work for them.

John McCain is running on a record of significant accomplishment. While I understand that his age and war-related stiffness make him a less attractive or exciting television candidate, I still find him to be extraordinarily inspirational. His heroism and service are unparalleled in modern political circles. McCain is asking for one more chance to serve the people that he has given so much for and I can only hope that be November 4th, the population of this great country will recognize him for the incredible man that he is. I will be doing everything in my power to spread that message because it is, as Obama and Biden like to say, one of the fundamental differences between the candidates.