An Argument for Public Transportation

An Early Round of 2009 Predictions

Before the predictions a brief word about the election. I believe this country has a way of picking the leader it needs at times of major crisis. From Lincoln at a time of grave division to Roosevelt at a time of ultimate peril. I believe while it is too soon to compare this man to those historical figures, the selection of Obama is game changing and this country will be well served by his vision. Beyond the rational cause for celebration I find his selection to be enormously good for the countries morale.  This is good because if my predictions are correct we will need that boost and more to get through what we are facing.

And here are my 2009 predictions in no specific order:

1. The economic trouble we are facing will deepen in ways we don't yet understand. I suspect the dollar is going to collapse. The impact of that collapse will touch a broad swath of both the middle and upper classes.
2. Obama will have enourmous leeway to push major initiatives through and he will succeed in getting many of them implemented. My guess is that he will get major health care reform, a giant public works/infrastructure stimulus package and drastic environmental reform.
3. The government will likely have to step in and suspend all home foreclosures for 12-24 months, freeze repayment of student loans and one or two other unheard of federal controls to keep the downturn from accelerating.
4. The U.S. will be forced to speed up withdrawal from Iraq to bolster troops in Afghanistan.
5. The DOW will close out 2009 below 7,000. If I had to guess I would call 6,800 a distinct possibility.
   

Election Fatigue?

Type the phrase "election fatigue" into Google and you get 1.92 million hits. I hear talk of election fatigue but I can't join in on this particular meme. The candidates are likely exhausted after months and months of endless travel and speechifying but as a citizen I have been waiting my entire adult life for the opportunity to cast a consequential vote for a leader that inspires.

When this election cycle ends and our electoral choices return to the mediocre vs. the crass, most of us will long for an election cycle like this one. This campaign has been so riveting and important that it didn't just wear out the candidates but apparently some of the citizens as well. As for me, I have cast votes for candidates like Dukakis, so having an election like this has been phenomenal. I'm not tired, I am hungry for more.

America Cares

I am never again going to listen to news commentators that tell me that we are an apathetic nation. That the young, the poor and the middle class can't be bothered to vote.

I stood in line this past Thursday for 2 hours with some young folks, poor folks and middle class folks to cast my vote early. The line moved slowly as some of the older voters struggled to master the touch screen ballot and because of the limited number of machines. Regardless the people in the long line that snaked through the Parks and Rec building stayed put and made small talk with their neighbors. They weren't talking politics or calling each other un-American either.

It turns out that in order to get this sort of response you need several things to happen. You need a remarkable candidate that bothers to talk to the young, the poor and the middle class the same way when the camera is turned on or off. Then you need a situation where the stakes are not manufactured (made up issues: flag burning, Willie Horton, swift boats, etc.) but instead real (involvement in 2 wars, tanking economy, damaged ecology, broken health care system, etc.).

It helps if you put the citizens through 8 years of broken promises, pointless fear and diminished opportunity.

Rock the Vote Indeed!