Ask Rockridge

Republicans are determined to carry on the false paradigms and shaky premises of the Bush administration. In recent years they convinced voters their policies had merit, and that we'd all be partners in an "ownership society." But their model was organically flawed, their premise, defined in law as "a basis stated or assumed, on which reasoning proceeds" could hardly be said to have been a reasoned approach to policy making.

Conservative pundits and bloggers are fulminating at full volume in an effort to preclude any prospect of success by the new administration. Gone are pronouncements about "country first" and notions of "reaching across the aisle", the rhetorical assertions with which the McCain campaign sought to attract voters. It's partisanship of a venomous almost other-worldly quality, so very beside-the-point given the current political climate.

Most curious of all, the president maintains that, despite our economic distress and with the Middle East in flames, he has been a visionary leader and claims to have "liberated" millions of Iraqis and Afghanistanis. If by liberated he means removing them from this earth that is true. And if the corrupt, fractured democracies in those countries represent success, then he deserves whatever credit is due him as a result.

Basically, however, attempts to make failure seem like success leave most observers in stunned disbelief. The refusal by Bush advocates to admit that borrowing to finance the war in Iraq has been a financial drain is astonishing. Why, for heaven's sake, did we spend over $700 million on that gigantic, luxury embassy in Iraq? And why are millions of ‘misplaced' U. S. dollars treated as just the cost of doing business in a defeated, uh liberated, nation?

Domestically, Republicans with their new-found fiscal correctness identify earmarks as a source of evil, and plan to keep a critical eye on how Congress constructs its spending bills. But stimulus programs and aid to states and municipalities can often resemble pork. Obviously, though, petting zoos and projects to further scientific research or enable states and municipalities to meet the needs of their citizens are very different things. Economic downturns at the federal level increase pressure on those who provide health and human services at the local level.

But whatever else is done to stimulate the economy, e.g. "shovel-ready" projects, extended unemployment benefits, or some re-calibration of Social Security benefits, the biggest nut to crack is health care. Businesses that provide medical benefits take on burdens that keep them from competing with countries whose governments provide national health care or none at all. And because of poor health-care options individuals often incur credit-card debt because of illness or use their homes as collateral for loans to pay medical bills. Either way, such obligations can lead to homelessness or bankruptcy.

Republicans have been trying to make the case that their party came up short because it betrayed its principles by supporting a government spending binge, albeit one their president and their leadership initiated and promoted. In fact, when Tom, "The Hammer", Delay ran the House, he held the prescription-drug-bill vote open for hours so he could twist arms and promise favors in order to get the legislation passed minus guarantees of proper oversight and some accounting sleight-of-hand about how much it would cost.

Everyone, from John McCain to Sarah Palin to congressional militants, talks about an "affordable" health care plan that assumes tax rebates would enable average wage- earners to provide adequate medical insurance for themselves, and McCain suggests that health care benefits offered by employers be taxed. Plans favoring the insurance industry meet with their approval; other approaches are called socialism or worse.

Responding to human need outside a capitalistic paradigm is anathema to Republicans. Along with many in her party Palin's fantasy is that old-guard economic ideology is what ordinary folks support today. And she insists her diminished stature was the result of a biased media, even going so far as to suggest that had she been the Democratic vice presidential nominee she would have received better treatment. But in the unlikely event such an anomaly had come to pass, Senator McCain would probably be the one polishing his inauguration speech instead of President-Elect Obama.

Reaching across the aisle going forward could be an admirable attempt to achieve a measure of bi-partisan governance, but if it only serves to institutionalize the false premises of the past, it will be a dispiriting exercise in futility.

As a New York Ranger hockey fan it was with great elation that I watched them win the Stanley Cup in 1994 at the end of a grueling march past contenders and a tough seven-game series final. After fifty-four years the announcer shouted over the tumult at Madison Square Garden "the waiting is over...the long wait is over." That exultant cry has been running through my mind repeatedly in recent days as a seemingly unrelated adjunct to the presidential race in its final days.

But it is no coincidence that for a hockey fan and an Obama supporter the last moments in both games are a mix of excitement and apprehension. For as much as one expects one's team to win, there is no certainty. In the case of the Rangers, the heroics were monumental; the win did not come easy. And, as the campaign season winds down, Obama's lead in the polls overall and in a number of battleground states is a hopeful sign, but, as duly noted by his staff and pundits alike, the race is not over. McCain and his surrogates continue their pillaging assault on the political process by defaming their Democratic rival, and sometimes their tactics show results.

As Obama noted recently, it isn't clear how McCain will differ from Bush if elected because ‘he spends so much time talking about me'. Still the Republican campaign has been somewhat successful in spinning its way into the minds of the few remaining undecideds and casting doubt about Obama's loyalty, experience and background - - just enough to keep some of the toss-up states toss-ups. It is embarrassing to watch a once-respected veteran and legislator forswear truth, honor and decency to pursue his ambition. Whatever his intentions, which may be honorable enough inside his head, the fact is that McCain has stooped to conquer, and should he end up winning, the country will be the poorer for his victory.

MSNBC's Joe Scarborough keeps trying to make the case that media coverage has been unfairly slanted in favor of Obama and overly-critical of McCain and Palin. But McCain held the media's ear far longer than seemed warranted, and wherever one's loyalties reside, the press goes where the story takes it. Palin made a splash, and Republicans exulted in the rush of publicity that accompanied her - - until she proved to be ill-prepared for the vice presidency and useful mainly as a down-home attack dog.

And has anyone else tired of the personal McCain story? "I've served my country since I was seventeen, and I've got the scars to prove it" is a tale told by someone who often appears to be losing it. The press has given him more than the benefit of the doubt and gone easy on him over some of his gaffes, especially the one lately where he spoke to "my fellow prisoners." If that doesn't give voters pause I guess nothing will, but fair to his side? - - more than fair to him but not addressing emotional factors that might help voters decide if this is someone fit to serve as Commander-in-Chief.

The topper and most embarrassing aspect of a low-road campaign is McCain's embrace of "Joe the Plumber."  A respectable candidate would think long and hard before choosing such a dubious standard-bearer. The campaign castigates the press for ‘investigating' their guy, but isn't that what happens when someone is promoted the way Joe has been? It is one thing for some oddball street person to make the outrageous statement that electing Obama would mean the destruction of Israel, but when that someone becomes a celebrated surrogate, that's a game changer; and when McCain says he'll take Joe to Washington with him it's hard to avoid making a value judgment about his inability to choose consorts in an intelligent, well-informed manner.

Whatever final judgments are to be made the election is upon us, and I keep hoping to hear someone say "finally the long wait is over" when the votes come in. It won't have been fifty-four years, but it has been far too long since we could point with pride to our leaders and feel comfortable about entrusting them with the formidable task of guiding the country through tumultuous times.