Neither a borrower nor a Republican be

It's a characteristic of our times that it is just as effective and far cheaper to spend money on advertising an inferior or flawed product than to spend the same money on improving it. It's profitable to capitalize on our growing ignorance by using advertising and publicity to sell shoddy and second rate goods and services; to sell by associating the product with the right kind of people, making irrelevant features seem important, and serious flaws seem superficial. Of course buying an inappropriate vehicle or overpaying for a cup of coffee is reversible at far less cost than voting for the wrong presidential candidate. His wearing of a flight suit, his having been beaten by the Vietnamese for having been what they saw as a terrorist? His swaggering, "bomb the bastards" geriatric machismo? Are these really more important than superior education, leadership ability and intelligence? American fashion sense suggests yes.

There are two ways to look at the spending habits of John McCain. Perhaps spending far more on advertising than he takes in, illustrates his bid to market a cheap truck as an expensive sports car. That has certainly worked for automakers. If he fails, he has his wife's money as a safety net after all, but perhaps the personal economic policies reflect what we have to expect if deception, prejudice, anti intellectualism and class warfare combine to put him in office. The Regan era, "debt doesn't matter" attitude may well apply. One has to ask: is John unafraid of running up huge debts because he can afford the risk, or because he knows that continuing our national borrowing spree will allow him to pay it off with heavily devalued dollars if he is in office?

The interest we pay on foreign debt is our third largest expenditure. Business failures are growing, real estate is slumping, unemployment is growing, prices are rising. It's late in the game to keep blaming it on Bill Clinton. There are two choices: we keep nattering about lapel pins and the difference between proud and "really proud" and keep waiting for different results from the same actions or we take a gamble and elect someone different; someone not quite like the same old second rate showmen in threadbare "man of the people" costumes we usually elect.

I wish I had some confidence that the US can muster the guts to save oursleves.