Is This Any Way to Select a President?

It has become a source of dismay to me what has happened to the election process in the U.S. Clearly, if one reads U.S. history there were nasty campaigns as far back as the early 19th century. However, the more recent attacks and character blows are really troublesome. We are electing the leader of the "Free World", not American Idol. Comparing Barack Obama to Brittany Spears and Paris Hilton may be cute, but hardly the stuff of good debate. I used to be a real John McCain admirer. I have lost respect for him. He is allowing himself to follow the same strategy that was used against himself in 2000 by George Bush.

We have serious problems in this country. Once cannot help but get the feeling that we are on the edge of a cliff. The era of the American Empire may well be coming to an end. All great empires have had their day. And, most have never seen or admitted that the end was coming. We coninue to tell ourselves that we are the leader in wealth, education, etc. Other countries are coming up rapidly and we are in a different world order. But, what we get is Obama pandering to the left and their calls for doing away with NAFTA and other treaties and somehow bringing manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. At the same time, McCain talks about the aftermath of Iraq as if we were dealing with a world order in the 1940s.

The saddess thing about this is that most of the public doesn't want a debate or real substance. They want their politics dumbed down to emotional jabs. Who can "dis" who the most. "Oh no you didn't......."

I can't help feel a bit down and concerned for the country I love so much.