Monday Mumblings

Bye, Newt.

Senator John McCain stated in an interview that, "I just have to say in all candor that since this nation was founded primarily on Christian principles ... personally, I prefer someone who I know who has a solid grounding in my faith. But that doesn't mean that I'm sure that someone who is Muslim would not make a good president."

In other words, McCain wants to assure the Religious Right that he's their man, but he also wants to wave the Islamic Boogeyman flag around for good measure.

McCain later clarified that he would vote for a Muslim candidate if they were the best choice for defending our country and our political values.

And Hillary Rodham Clinton addressed 14,000 of her fans in Oakland on Sunday, proclaiming that the day after she's elected, she will send emissaries around the globe to proclaim the message that the era of cowboy diplomacy is over.

Now, I might buy that if she said 'after her inauguration,' but isn't it a little presumptuous to say you're going to have a pack of emissaries to throw flowers and sing your praises the day after the election? (And not just because you might not have access to information normally reserved for the president.)

The fuss over candidates on both sides has become increasingly more like the disgusting overcommercialization of Christmas - it has nothing to do with the actual purpose. It's just a bunch of slogans and sales pitches, all predicated to make you think you're running out of time, or are getting a fantastic bargain.

Except there are no returns on a presidential election, short of impeachment. Which means it's not enough to dislike what you got, it has to actually break and fuck up your living room or something.

Hey, kids - a word of caution about those shiny ads pushing cheap college loans that Mom & Dad co-sign on, and which you don't have to repay until after graduation.

Better read the small print.

For example, if you were to acquire the maximum of $40,000 from such a loan, you'll come out of school with debt equivalent to two major credit cards. Depending on the interest rate, you're going to be paying off that debt for many years to come - and it's going to dog you on other important things, like purchasing a car (unless Mommy & Daddy did that for you, too) and, later, a house.

Not to mention that Mom & Dad's names on the loan documents means that if you default, the lender goes after them.

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