I raise my right hand and solemnly swear: This will be my last political blog post until after the election. I just needed to vent a bit at the morning's CNN headline: McCain takes hit from bailout collapse.What the heck is going on here??? McCain suspended his campaign to head to Capital Hill and work for the economic bailout. When he called for postponing the debate, he was derided in the media for dodging Obama and not being able to multitask. As a result, he reluctantly attended the debate. Then, when the bailout fails, he gets the blame???? It failed by 12 votes. Do you think McCain staying in Washington on Friday, Saturday and Sunday might have helped sway 12 stinking votes? I would say YES! So he's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't.
Furthermore, how does Obama get off scott free on this? He also supported the bailout. He also went to Capital Hill to show his support. The vote only got 60% of the House democrats to support it. I'll bet he could have swayed 12 of them had he stayed! I'm beginning to think this debate was not a good idea. I'm optimistic that some kind of modified plan can salvage this fiasco, but I'll wager that McCain will be staying clear due to the inevitible backlash his support would cause.
Look, I am a registered Republican. I am voting McCain all the way. He could have picked the ghost of Telly Savalas to run as his VP and I would still vote for him. I'm not trying to convince anyone how to vote. I'm just pointing out the obvious discrepancies in reporting when it comes to our Presidential candidates (and their VP nods, but that is another issue I will not touch). Why do I want McCain? Because he will be good for the economy, and he won't f$%& up our national security. Most of all, he will be good for my pocketbook. That's how 99% of Americans vote anyway.
How does McCain help me? I am a doctor. My wife is a doctor. We have sacraficed 10 and 7 years of our lives respectively to our training. We make jack during that time and sit on top of well over $100,000 in debt, EACH! So as a result, I am 33 and I have ZERO dollars in savings. All of that is a sacrafice to do what we love, and doctors get reimbursed with pretty decent salaries after that time to help catch up on the years we trained and saved nada. Still, we don't make anywhere close to what high paying lawyers or even business executives make. So what, it's not all about money. But don't you think the doctors who take care of you and your families deserve to be paid well for the hard, risky work they do?
Now, when I am trying to find a job, nobody is hiring because it's an election year. A Democrat in the White House is bad for business, and many groups are holding tight to see how the election goes. They have TOLD ME THIS! Great. After the election, if Obama raises taxes on the "wealthy" who make a good salary (but definitely aren't rich), that means every doctor in radiology. Many other types of doctors also make this much. That means my future colleagues will be making less, and will be less likely to hire. Super great. And the icing on the cake is that Obama also wants to overhaul the health care system. I know, he doesn't say he wants a National health care plan, but it doesn't matter. I know the details of medicare/medicaid reimbursement, and he will make tiny little cuts on paper that have overwhelming consequences to the money doctors get paid for seeing patients, both with and without insurance. So now if I do get a job, I have to work harder and still make less. Super duper great!
So when you wonder how all this Presidential election stuff affects you, consider that the choice has real ramifications for a lot of people. Even if you are not a doctor, consider that a lot of younger, smart people may decide medicine is just not worth the sacrafice. I know a lot of current doctors that already feel that way. So when you start to get older and have to see the doc or make a stay at a hospital, enjoy Dr. Srinivasaraghavan and his unintelligible accent. Having a friendly foreign medical graduate take care of you was probably worth that vote for Obama.
4 comments:
I choose doctors by which ones have the best lollipops in their office. And also by proximity - since the only time I ever go to the doctor is when I'm bleeding, broken, or dying. By lollipops are key, because you spend lots of time in the waiting room.
Lollipops are good, but don't forget stickers! Those are key for a good doctor experience!
Again... still undecided on my vote, BTU...
My take on the McCain front was that suspending campaigning was all a show to force Obama into looking like a selfish jerk or to make McCain look magnanimous.
I agree with Obama's response - as president you'll need to multi-task. This is particularly relevant since McCain has a personal jet that could get him from Washington to Mississippi in about 90 minutes (it's also revealing given the Letterman appearance fiasco). It's also interesting considering reports from those emergency meetings revealed that McCain said nothing the entire time.
Also, and this is just the conspiracy theorist in me, I wouldn't put it past McCain - with the issue looking like it would be solved quickly - to ask old buddy Boehner to create some opposition and drag the issue out so Obama would have to make a decision. But that's just my second shooter on the grassy knoll thinking...
It really doesn't matter who you guys vote for anyway - your states are already statistically decided in the Presidential vote. Now if you lived in Florida, Pennsylvania, or Ohio, you could make a difference. But you don't, so don't even bother voting.
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