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 THE AFTERNOON WATER COOLER

Tuesday 11/4/08

It’s sometimes lonely being me.  It’s obvious from reading this site that I am hugely influenced by music.  My first ever concert was a Billy Joel concert in New Haven, Connecticut and to this day he is one of my all time favorites.  Joel along with Bruce Springsteen recently played a pro-Obama concert in New York.  The National, one of my favorite indie bands of recent years played a pro-Obama show at Fountain Square 3 weeks ago.  So many artists I am a fan of make it clear during there performances that it is important that I vote for Barack Obama.  By most conventional wisdom, someone like me who is greatly influenced by indie rock must be voting for Obama…but I’m not.  Today I am voting for John McCain.

I understand the elements that exist around the music/arts scene that creates the pro-Obama culture.  These artists are among the most creative and successful among their peers.  Usually they are greatly moved and connect to social causes.  One thing I find fascinating is how blindly ignorant these types of people can be when choosing to support or not support a political candidate.  They never gave John McCain a chance because he is an old white man with an ‘R’ next to his name.  It’s the lemming principle at its finest.  Ironically, the bias they show against McCain cuts to the same core as the bias they feel works against their social beliefs.  Conversely, the empowerment given to Obama because he is an educated black man with a ‘D’ next to his name is an example of acting in the exact same fashion as the forces they believe they are fighting against.  It’s reverse ignorance if you will.

I have tremendous respect for Barack Obama.  He is a brilliant man and win or lose will be a powerful political force in this country for years to come.  Just as I respect Obama, I have equal respect for John McCain.  McCain is a good man, a proven leader who has fought to reform government for years.  He is a man of conviction and humility.  We hear so much ridiculous rhetoric during Presidential campaigns that it becomes almost laughable.  It’s obvious that Obama’s tactic to try and tie McCain to George W. is a strategic ploy, but those who really have followed the career of McCain know that notion is so far off course.  When weighing my decision to vote for a person I ask myself, who is the most qualified candidate for the job? And who has the best chance at doing the best job?  I treat it in the same fashion as if I were in charge of making the hiring decision.  When I looked at this election from this perspective, the choice was clear; John McCain’s resume is far superior for the job of President of the United States.  In fact, Obama’s resume is so far inferior; I don’t think he would even get an interview.

I like to live in the present and this is John McCain’s time.  Now more than ever we need the best person possible in the White House.  Obama’s time may come, but I don’t believe his time is now.  There are still too many things he needs to prove and questions he has to answer.  I would like to see him at least complete a full term as a U.S. senator first and while a senator, do or say something!  As PBS’ recent Frontline special clearly demonstrated, Obama spent his first two years as a senator in pretty much a silent bubble where he didn’t take a stand on anything, he has spent his second two years running for President.  Obama’s vision he is trying to format for America is more like a fairy tale.  He is running on the platform of the change we need, there’s an original concept.  McCain is running on the platform of reform, which is what is really needed in Washington.  Obama’s plans for the economy and healthcare, though noble in there idealism, will never work as he has presented them.  I’m willing to bet what’s left in my 401K that in eight years Obama’s healthcare plan will be the butt of a joke on Saturday Night Live.

Our country is not in the position to roll the dice.  We need a tested leader who operates from a common sense approach.  We need a commander in chief that, when the spotlights are off, we can trust to make the best decisions.  John McCain has proven he could, with Barack Obama, we just don’t know.  In no way do I feel being a P.O.W. qualifies a person to be President.  The decision McCain made however as a P.O.W. when the spotlight was turned off to remain a prisoner for 2 more years when given the pass to freedom because it was the right thing to do to stay with his fellow comrades speaks volumes.  It also demonstrates to us he has it in him to make the tough choices and this country has tough choices to make.  There is nothing in Obama’s past to this point that can demonstrate he has the same ability.  What we do know about Obama is he thinks the way to create wealth in America is from the bottom up.  This theory defies the natural economic laws of gravity.  I have had my ups and downs in life but one thing I have learned is when you are given something for nothing, its value is not the same as when you have worked for it.  Taking from the successful hard workers and giving part of that success to underachievers who feel government entitlement, will not motivate wealth creation.  I believe we have a human duty to help everyone and that can be done by giving everyone equal opportunities to achieve what they want to achieve.  We have good programs already but they need common sense reform to get them back to doing what they were intended to do in the first place. 

So today we elect our new President after one of the most interesting, though sometimes nauseating campaign cycles in American history.  I could go on and on about the issues but by now most of us have made up our minds and the purpose here wasn’t to sway anyone.  My goal was to explain that when it comes to political views, sometimes it’s okay to explore outside the stereotypes.  Just because I love the Beastie Boys, I’m not going to vote the way they want me too just because I am a fan.  It is our duty to make informed decisions clear of all the rhetoric and misconceptions we are feed over and over from all outlets.  So I’ve made my informed decision and tried to show a little insight as to why.  While I’ll be rooting for a McCain upset today, I am not afraid of the prospect of a President Elect Obama.  It would be an amazing milestone in American history.  The potential image of young black children living and playing in the White House would be a powerful one, and would send a message to the world of U.S. haters that our country, though far from perfect, now more than ever stands for the democratic values it was founded upon.  That being said, that romantic notion is not a reason to vote for Obama.   It is our duty to vote, but we must also vote our informed conscious.  Regardless of what happens today, as my favorite band these days, The Hold Steady say in their song ‘Stay Positive’: “There's gonna come a time when the true scene leaders Forget where they differ and get big picture. “

We can only hope that one day that we will find our unified scene and until then 'we gotta stay positive!'

Wednesday 9/16/08

I have often heard Indian Hill called 'The Bubble' of Cincinnati, but when I really began to think about it this week, Cincinnati is a 'bubble' of a city.  Even though we have floods from time to time and tornadoes have left their mark in the past, we don't really walk around worrying about earthquakes, and let's face it, Bin Laden is probably not plotting his next attack on America with Cincinnati as his prime target.  We have seen a crime surge but it's one that most of us don't care about because it's contained in just a few communities most of us stay out of.  That's why the wind event from Sunday was such a shocker for our community to deal with.  A hurricane hit Cincinnati?  Really?!?  Most of us were caught off guard and not prepared for this storm, and how did we react to virtually our entire city being out of power? We partied!?! The few parts of town that had power Sunday night appeared to have a carnival atmosphere because I saw people walking down the streets with beers.  I think when we got up the next day and heard reports that power may not be back on for a week, people around here started getting a little grumpy.  I heard complaints about how slow Duke was getting the repairs done... Are you kidding me?  I thought they did a remarkable job considering 90% of their customers were down on Monday, and as I write this today, 85% of the power has been restored.  So to recap, Cincinnati was in the dark from an unexpected wind event, we partied, became grumpy, tried to place blame, and survived with relative ease because that's the advantage of living in an urban bubble.  Just ask the people of Galveston, Texas.

Monday 9/8/08

If you are a fan of football in Cincinnati this was a rough weekend.  The Bearcats got a reality check in Oklahoma and the Bengals were down right dreadful in Baltimore.  Even the Buckeyes were on the ropes at home to Ohio U. but they got it together just in time.  Over the past several years there has been a ton of buzz and excitment all over town for the start of football season around here but I just did not feel it yesterday.  The sports bars weren't quite as hoppin' and there weren't as many people wearing their Bengals gear around town as I have seen in the past.  I actually saw a little more buzz than normal for the Bearcats Saturday but unfortunately that was a fleeting feeling.  One fan of the University of Cincinnat's football team said that despite their loss to the Sooners that U.C. football was the only 'winning' team in town.  My initial reaction was to concur because I actually like what they have been doing with their football program and it bugs the heck out of me that more people around here support Ohio St. football more than their local school.  Then I said, "Well them and Xavier basketball."  The U.C. fan reluctantly affirmed my statement.  In reality, I am starting to think that the most buzz and only true sport we can count on in our region anymore is college basketball.  There are so many quality programs around that win or have such a winning pedigree that even their down years would be acceptable to the football fans here.  There's Xavier of course, U.C., U.K., Louisville, Dayton, Miami (OH), and Ohio St.  Even Wright St. has shown signs and N.K.U. is a top division 2 school with a sweet new arena so I bet division 1 hoops can't be too far away... I guess what I am saying is it usually takes till the end of June for the Reds to prove their out of it when we start to rev up for football.  I just can't believe it took just one weekend of football to have us ask, how long till basketball season begins?

Tuesday 8/19/08

Monday 8/18/08-