Thoughts for the Evening...

I sat down to write about the new FBI rules and how they're rolling back the safeguards that were put in place after Watergate, which doesn't seem like a good idea.

But what's running through my head are several arguments I've had recently with those on the right, and I want to talk about them.

First, there's that per diem that Sarah Palin has supposedly claimed for nights when she was in her own home, and the answer to that is that it's legal and that others do it. And that's a valid reason... if you're talking about whether she should be arrested for it or not. Clearly she should not.

But for me, that story isn't about whether she did anything wrong, it's about the whole image they're selling for her of maverick reformer and fighter of government waste. THAT'S what makes that story mean something to me.

It's not that she did anything wrong. But it's like the ad I saw today that said "He reformed Washington, she reformed Alaska, together....blah blah blah". Excuse me, but when was this big reformation of Washington? Because other than the inevitable swing of the pendulum back and forth between the parties, I haven't seen all that much reforming going on over the course of my life. Lots of TALK of reforming, but not much actual change.

If you want to sell yourself as something, you open yourself up to criticism for things you've done that don't match the image you're selling.

The history just does not match the story. She campaigned in favor of the Bridge to Nowhere but points to the fact that she "turned it down" as evidence of her fiscal reformation of government.

The other one that's been rattling around in my head today is this: There was an ad from the Obama camp a few days ago that points out that by McCain's own admission, he doesn't really know how to get online, doesn't use e-mail or computers in general. Clearly the intent is to focus a spotlight on McCain's age, and we can debate whether that's fair or not (I certainly think advanced age CAN BE a factor in fitness to govern, where as race and gender are not, but I suppose it all depends on whether it really HAS affected his ability to govern effectively).

But in talking with some of my friends on the right, they're claiming this claim about the computer is "a lie" because McCain was so badly injured during his POW days that he can't really type or use a computer, so it has nothing to do with his age, it has to do with his physical disability.

And at first blush, this sounds reasonable... until you think about it for a while. And then you realize that once again, McCain or his supporters have gone to the "go to" argument for anything leveled against their candidate, his time in the Hanoi Hilton. It's beginning to be difficult to take that seriously any more, when it's become McCain's version of Giuliani's "9/11", the trump card he uses in any situation.

"How many houses do you own, Senator?" "Well, you know, for five and a half years I didn't HAVE a home..."

But on top of that, I'm trying to figure out what kind of disability would prevent you from being able to use a computer, given that Stephen Hawking uses one and all he has to use is his mouth. I had a friend back in the DC area who had lost his eyesight to diabetes, and he was able to navigate his way pretty effectively around a computer (his own, obviously modified, but still).

Computers are ubiquitous in our society, they are increasingly how politicians keep their constituents apprised of the goings on. Personally, I couldn't do my job without e-mail. Sure, if I was a Senator I might have someone to handle most of my e-mail for me, but I think I'd want to at least get a sense of what they were and how they worked and make sure I had the ability to check my e-mail if my aide called in sick one day.

As one friend put it, the kind of disability which would preclude the use of a computer would have to be something on the order of brain damage, and I think we have a right to know about any brain damage in someone we're going to elect to steer our country for four years or eight years.

Come to think of it, McCain and his campaign go to great lengths to minimize any coverage of his medical condition. Access to his medical record has been spotty at best, I recall a few months back when, with great fanfare, they allowed some small number of reporters in to look at them, not allowed to copy anything or even take any notes, and the number of pages of documents, divided by the number of reporters and the amount of time they were given meant that they'd each have had to go through each page in just a few seconds to get through it all.

So we really only have his word that he has any disability at all that would preclude his use of a computer. I would think that maybe, if he's going to start throwing around terms like disability, that perhaps we should be asking him to clearly spell out just what his disabilities are and whether there are any of them that preclude his being able to carry out the duties of President of the United States.

And in my view, any that he does not see fit to mention should not be able to sit in a reserve somewhere, to be pulled out as convenient to garner sympathy or fight off on charge or another.

Liam.