Hijacking Change

Barack Obama's entire campaign has been about change. About changing the way politics is played. About bringing about hope in a desolate time. But recently, John McCain has taken the line that his campaign will also be about Change.

Ahem, excuse me while I gag for a moment. Explain to me exactly how someone who has voted 90% of the time with the current President, Mr. George W. Bush? In choosing Sarah Palin, he has a vice presidential candidate that is essentially equivalent to Mr. Bush. How exactly do those equate to change?

McCain is pro-life, would provide a troop surge to Afghanistan and install a puppet governer who is highly favourable to the United States (Does anyone remember how that worked out with Iran?), would cut corporate taxes, and is opposed to windfall taxing of oil companies, is against the assault-weapon ban, is against universal health care, for the Patriot Act (bye bye freedoms), is for the continuation of troop deployments in Iraq, is for privatizing Social Security.

Does that sound like anyone else?

The Republicans have also taken it upon themselves to paint Barack Obama as an elitist, out of touch with the poor. Meanwhile they have no plans to help out the working and middle classes. McCain is all for cutting corporate taxes and taxes for the wealthy, with the idea of the trickle-down effect stimulating the economy. The trickle-down effect doesn't work.

To quote from a Barack Obama speech, November 7, 2007:

These are dreams that drove my grandparents. After my grandfather served in World War II, the GI Bill gave him a chance to go to college, and the government gave them a chance to buy a home. They moved West, worked hard at different jobs, and were able to provide my mother with a decent education, to help raise me, and to save enough to retire.

These are dreams that drove my father-in-law. A city worker in Chicago, he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis at the age of 30. But every day, even when he had to leave an hour earlier in the morning and rely on a walker to get him there, he went to work while his wife stayed home with the kids. And on that single salary, he provided for his family and sent my wife Michelle and her brother to college. His dream was to see them do better. And they have.

These are dreams that drove my mother. A single mom - even while relying on food stamps as she finished her education, she followed her passion for helping others, and raised my sister and me to believe that in America there are no barriers to success - no matter what color you are, no matter where you're from, no matter how much money you have.

And these are the dreams that led me to Chicago over two decades ago to become a community organizer. The salary - $12,000 a year - wasn't what my friends would make in the corporate world or at law firms. I didn't know a single person in Chicago. But I knew there were folks who needed help. The steel plant had closed. Jobs were disappearing. In a forgotten corner of America, the American dream was slipping away. And I knew dreams are worth fighting for.

So he worked and got an education, and now he's running for president. Tell me again, how many houses does John McCain have? How can he and his buddies claim to be more in touch with the working class than Barack Obama?

So if "change" really is coming, I ceratinly hope it's referring to a Barack Obama victory, and not a McCain/Palin aristocracy.

Socio-democracy is not something to be feared, but rather to be embraced. Top countries in the world for quality of life, places to live, happiest citizenry are all socio-democracies.

2007/2008 Human Development Index rankings

High Human Development

1. Iceland
2. Norway
3. Australia
4. Canada
5. Ireland
6. Sweden
7. Switzerland
8. Japan
9. Netherlands
10. France
11. Finland
12. United States

source: The United Nations Human Development Index (2008)

The United States ranked 6th in 2002, 8th in 2006 and now 12th in 2008. Socio-Democracies rank above the US every year for a variety of reasons. Perhaps increased, responsible, government spending on social programs to give it's citizens a hand-up isn't such a bad thing, and should be the Change that is coming.