Selling Fear

So, here I am in Florida listening to talk radio. I happened to like talk radio as an art form, when done well. Left or right a good talk show is fun to listen to. We have some locally, but honestly the most popular talk shows here are more familiar than they are good; like an old, comfortable but disgusting pair of slippers.

In Tampa Bay there are some pretty good talk shows. I mentioned one in the last blog. This day brought a new turbo charged effort by conservative talk shows to scare the pants off us at the possibility of an Obama administration. It is a real war footing. It seemed to start with the interview in Orlando with Joe Biden and WFTV news anchor Barbara West. I'm not quite sure what to make of the interview and that's not really the basis for my observation. It certainly was a newscast that made news.

Here's where I will confuse you as far as my position in all this: I agree with some of the conservative commentators that many voters are not listening to what the candidates are saying, either candidate. What they are doing - what we are doing - is leading with emotions. We are not listening to John McCain, who has discovered a mantra: "redistribution of wealth." We are not listening to Barack Obama who is actually outlining a plan that could very well be called, yes, redistribution of wealth.

The fact is we already have our wealth flowing all over government and an otherwise private industry. The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 is by definition taking money from us the taxpayer and giving it to banks and other financial institutions. The theory is that if we sure up these businesses we will have a better chance of getting to that money when we need it in the form of loans. Tax deductions, farm subsidies, automakers bail outs, even charities and needy members of our own family, it's all a form of financial equilibrium. We are constantly redistributing wealth. The fear we are being sold is that the wealth you and I are working hard for is going to someone who is either not as talented, not working as hard, or not working at all. Mr. Obama is not that stupid, and Mr. McCain does not really believe we are that stupid.

So forget the mantras. Here's the hard part, put aside the emotions, especially fear. You really need to know what these two men stand for and choose the one who best reflects your vision of your country - our great country. This will be the 14th presidential election I have lived through. Each one was important, and at the time seemed to be the most important election of all time. Wars, shaky economies, social upheaval, it was all there and it has always been there.

The merchants of fear are doing a land office business, but there's is no law that says we have to buy it.