Unforeseen Contingencies

I've been trying to divert myself from the bleak economic disaster that looms ahead, hence the cheerier topics like racism, bitterly contested ballot initiatives, and divisive conspiracy theories I've been going on about. But time is running out, and if I'm going to violate McCain-Feingold, I'd better get to it.

Who do I endorse for President?

First, neither candidate for Vice President deserves 10 seconds of consideration. Joe Biden is the worst sort of career politician; whatever expands the power of the state, he's for it. He has no good positions on anything, and is a threat to our freedom. Sarah Palin is completely out of her league. She might be OK as governor of a state with nearly no people that has no budget problems because of the luck of nature (it's a resource curse, Sarah, and it works its evil even at the state level). She knows next to nothing about economics or energy or foreign policy. Her claim that she was qualified on foreign policy because Alaska is close to Russia was so stupid that she should have been ashamed to make it. I gather she was desperate, but this bodes ill for us. She should not be Vice President.

Second, at one time or another both John McCain and Barack Obama could have claimed to represent a change from the business-as-usual that is bankrupting us and destroying our strength abroad. But neither one has spoken truthfully about the financial crisis and looming debt disaster. Both promise to cut taxes, and their fiscal proposals simply accelerate the growth of debt. We're on the road to ruin, and both promise to step on the gas.

Even worse, the big player will be the 111th Congress, and it will be going crazy with proposals for spending and regulation. We desperately need someone who will stand up to them and lead, but these two candidates have shown complete lack of courage and honesty, and a willingness to say whatever pretty things they think will get them elected. I have no idea what either would do in office, but both act as though they'd be complete patsies, pushovers for a power-mad Congress.

The third party candidates are imperfect, but all of them 1) are honest with us and tell us what they stand for (with the possible exception of Bob Barr), 2) oppose the insane federal bailouts, and 3) oppose war-mongering (with the possible exception of Barr's crazy running mate Wayne Root).

And so, Unforeseen Contingencies makes its first ever endorsement for a Presidential candidate in violation of McCain-Feingold: please vote for Ron Paul (on the ballot in MT) or Ralph Nader or Chuck Baldwin or Cynthia McKinney or even Bob Barr, or anyone else on your ballot... just don't vote for Obama or McCain. Both promise to bring bigger deficits, more militarism, more regulation, and no end to the growing police state. Any of the third party candidates would be better.

Third parties won't win, but going along with the McCain-Obama status quo is simply wrong.

While we're on this subject, Tom Friedman in NYT just wrote the finest op-ed of this election cycle, hands down. He precisely hits the nails (or rather, candidates) on the heads. Read it! You won't be sorry.