E
very four years, we’re asked the same ques- the messiah, sent from above to fix all that is broken ation of the right wing spin machine built by men like
tions. And we’re presented with the same with a wave of his hand. Lee Atwater and tuned to frighteningly effective preci-
choice: Two candidates telling us we face There are other things that he is. He is a politician. sion by the likes of Karl Rove. Palin is a caricature, a
dire, pressing issues, each saying that only by electing He’s calculating. He’s willing to do the dirty work scary glimpse into the souls of her creators—narcissis-
him can we ensure a safe and prosperous future. The required to get elected. tic, power hungry men who believe the American pub-
names change but the song and dance, the hollow But he also represents a radical redirect, a break lic is so stupid, so distracted that they’ll blindly, glee-
platitudes, stay comfortingly, sickeningly consistent. from the failures of the last eight years. He takes fully follow anyone who likes guns and beer, mistrusts
This year has been no different—except words like “change” and “hope” and endows science and intellectualism and willfully mispro-
that it has. them with an authenticity that’s unfamil- nounces the word “nuclear.”
Our country stands at a perilous iar, even revolutionary, in these bleak,
crossroads; that’s not hyperbole, cynical times.
it’s fact. We are engaged in two His opponent, John
poorly planned, mismanaged McCain, has tried to
foreign wars. Our economy seize on this pre-
Obama takes words like
is in a freefall. Vital infra- vailing
structure—schools, roads, spirit “change” and “hope”
hospitals—languishes in
neglect. Our healthcare
and endows them with
system is in shambles, of
an authenticity that’s
the laughingstock of change. He’s
the Western world. attempted to paint
unfamiliar, even revolu-
Every day the national himself as a maver-
tionary, in these bleak,
debt, the legacy of ick, a shoot-from-
wanton greed and the hip reformer
cynical times.
unfettered consump- who puts country
tion that we’ll pass first. Yet at every
on to the next genera- major turning point
tion, swells like a bloat- in this campaign
ed carcass. McCain has revealed This election is a chance to do two things: First, to
In these tenuous times, his true nature—conniv- prove Rove and his ilk wrong and to reject their
our choices have magnified ing, erratic, manipulative destructive, misanthropic agenda. Second, and more
repercussions. and woefully out of touch. The important, it’s a chance to show the world, and our-
There are many things towering example of this is his selves, that we’re ready to turn the page, to put a pos-
Barack Obama is not. He choice of running mate. itive stamp on history, to do something that will be
is not a savior. Sarah Palin is without question remembered as a step forward rather than another
He isn’t one of the most unqualified, dan- stumble into the mistakes of the past.
gerous figures ever to wobble Every four years, we’re asked the same questions.
onto the national stage. The fact This year, we can give a dif-
that her handlers have almost ferent answer.
totally sheltered her from
unscripted media expo-
sure—an unprecedent-
Maui Time
ed move—reveals
how complete-
Weekly endorses
ly she is a
cre-
Barack
Obama
14 OCTOBER 30, 2008 MAUI TIME WEEKLY
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