Change We Should Not Believe In

The change we need is the new mantra for McCain's campaign. So far he has failed to specify what, if any change, he would advocate separate and apart from the change Bush has wrought. Bush's main theme in 2000 was a claim for compassionate conservativeness, a nice sounding phrase which, it turns out, meant absolutely nothing. McCain seemed to get several things right as he wound his way through the primaries. He held promise as a green presidential candidate and it looked like a debate during the campaign proper would focus of the issue of how best to accomplish relief from our nation's oil addiction. All of that changed in a heart beat with his selection of Palin as his VP as the Republican party appears now to be committed to drilling in Alaska with the inferred promise that somehow the measly (in terms of percentage of oil necessary to provide independence from foreign oil sources) production out of Alaska will deal with the crisis. The result is that McCain who not only backs Bush policies 90% of the time has increased that percentage by becoming one of the big oil boys. I don't think that this is the kind of 'change' that the electorate has anticipated and , for one, I am sorely disappointed in McCain for taking this tack.