January 31, 2008 by fbk.

The Presidential primaries present an interesting conundrum this year.  The front runners of the moment are a 1940’s-style Democrat (Big Government CAN do it all, strong on defense) and a 1970’s-style Democrat, who looks and talks like Jimmy Carter, but actually votes to be strong on defense in the Senate.  Both have proven to find the truth a highly-elastic material.  The net difference between the Republican and Democratic frontrunners is that one of the two has real testicles.  Of course, they originally belonged to her husband.

Many might consider this to be an unfair characterization of Senator McCain.  He is a war hero, after all.  But, that war ended more than thirty years ago, and while he may have had a backbone against the North Vietnamese, he’s never shown one against the Democrats.  He’s thrown more punches, literal and figurative, at his Republican colleagues than at the Democrats.  He talks much more like Walter Mondale than Ronald Reagan, with references to “greedy people on Wall Street who need to be punished” and “for patriotism, not for profit.”  Anyone remember his comments from 2000 about the Christian right?  I could believe much of what he says coming from a John Kerry or Dennis Kucinich, but from the Republican frontrunner?

I cannot see myself voting for this man under any circumstances.  So, where does that leave me if he gets the nomination?  He can’t be trusted on Supreme Court nominations.  He has flip-flopped on what sort of Justice he would nominate.  Right now, he’s trying to claim to be conservative, but he’s had a reputation as a maverick for much longer.  There are also rumors that he has said he’ll only run for one term.  That means the day he takes office, he’s no longer beholden to the people who elected him.  He can follow his true inclination without worry about upsetting all of those wacko right-winger types, who just happen to be the bulk of his party.  I wouldn’t trust him on any issue.

On economic issues, issues of freedom, paying attention to the Constitution, and big government programs, he aligns pretty well with Senator Kennedy.  In fact, McCain is to the left of the former Senator Kennedy who became President.  John F. Kennedy at least understood the power of tax cuts to free the economy.  McCain would be likely to let the tax levels rise back to the former levels under Clinton, if not higher.  He certainly has no clue about regulation and its effect on the economy.  Comparing Senator McCain to the average Democrat would only yield a slight divergence on winning the war in Iraq.  But, despite many of the things she has said about the war, Hillary Clinton’s voting record isn’t that different from McCain’s.

If we’re going to get basically the same results either way, with one result being an economic disaster, wouldn’t it be better to let the Democrats have the White House for four years, and let them get the blame for the recession caused by economic ignorance?  If the candidates are so close on the issues and neither is a disciple of the truth, what’s the downside?  If McCain gets elected and does as expected, the Republicans get blamed.  I don’t consider myself so much a Republican as a conservative.  But, most of the other conservatives are in the Republican Party, and what hurts the party will hurt the conservative cause.  I’d much rather see the Democrats take it on the chin as they did in 1976-80.

I can’t quite bring myself to think that I’d vote for Hillary, but I’ve actually been considering it, which scares me.  How many other conservatives are thinking that Hillary might do less damage than McCain?  How many conservatives will just sit out the general election if McCain is the Republican nominee?  How many will seek a third party, such as the Libertarians?  How many will just hold their noses and vote for McCain?  I don’t have the answers to any of these questions.  But I have a feeling that if McCain gets the nomination, nothing good will come of it.

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January 10, 2008 by fbk.

More and more in my working life, I seem to encounter bloviators.

Over a year ago now, I was helping out on a project, and needed some information and clarification to get them where they wanted to be.  The executive in charge tried to answer my question, and his lack of true knowledge didn’t stop him from unleashing a torrent of words to flood the Mississippi and entire Midwest.  Now, I wound up having a very good relationship with this fellow, and we are working together again, but he’s a man who talks.

Eight months ago, I was on a two-week assignment, and 90% of it was hearing the engagement lead go on and on about how we couldn’t do what we were supposed to do because we didn’t have the knowledge.  When I finally paid enough attention to figure out what the windbag was going on about, I pointed out that we did know enough, and then took over the project and started assigning jobs to the other people, who were all senior to me.  It took me fifteen minutes to accomplish what he spent hours saying couldn’t be done.

Previous and subsequent to that, I had to put up with another fellow, not nearly as bad, but still one who talked too much.This fellow was a geek about certain topics, and could go on forever about them, whether he actually knew anything or not.

Then there was the Alpha Bore, who has been the topic of a few posts here.

Now, on a new project, I once again encounter another bloviator.  If he’s on the phone, one question can spur him to review the whole project history and future.  An e-mail with a simple statement or two can get a return reiterating everything that was said three times.

When did we shift idolizing from the strong, silent type to the chatty, say-nothing huckster?  When did men start thinking it was okay to say nothing, so long as it was said in quantity?  Was it a matter of the wars of the last century that turned men into taciturn doers rather than tsunamis of statements?  Whatever the cause, give me men who speak seldom and move the world with their actions.

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