The readers of my blog know that I see no substantial difference between Obama and McCain, I have said so many times. The choice between these two is about as meaningful as the choice between the SA and the SS in Nazi Germany or between the Trotskysts and the Stalinists in the Soviet Union. In the context of the USA, I like the following metaphor: the choice between the two Presidential candidates is akin to the choice between (Kosher) Pepsi and (Kosher) Coke when what one really wants to choose is a bottle of good French wine. As the "kosher" label on these two soda-candidates indicates, both have been vetted by the Israel Lobby and both are puppets of the same Neocon puppeteers. To repeat, there is no *substantial* difference between these two puppets and the outcome of the next election will decide exactly nothing in terms of the future of the USA.
But difference do not need to be substantial, there are other, often salient differences which should not be overlooked: style, appeal, etc. And here, in the realm of non-substantial differences, Obama and McCain are dramatically different.
First, there is the personal stuff. Obama has undeniable charm, he has brains, he actually understands most of the issues he discusses and, at times, one can even get the feeling that Obama might have some actual beliefs or values. In contrast, McCain is a drooling idiot, clearly as senile as Reagan was in his late years, McCain has absolutely no idea what he is talking about, and his "personal charm" is one micron think: underneath the nasty nature of McCain's character is obvious. This is why Obama and McCain appeal to very different types of people.
Obama "sells" himself under the "change" slogan and most people voting for him are sick and tired of Dubya and what he has done to the USA. They want a different course for the USA and Obama dangles this hope in front of them: put me in power and I will stop this insanity.
McCain, on the other hand, offers what many have called "Dubya on steroids" - more of the same, only much more of it. Some say that where Dubya was a hollow man, McCain is an evil one. I agree. The reason why most non-Americans are absolutely baffled by the fact that, at least judging by the polls, McCain is trailing Obama by only a couple of points is that they fail to understand a simple truth: McCain appeals to the worst and the most barbarically stupid and ugly Americans out there.
Who are the McCain voters? They are a toxic mix of rednecks, trailer-trash, TV-watching ignoramuses mixed with Bible-thumping Evangelicals, "Dispensationalists", Southern Baptists, inbred hicks, mixed in with the rich guys who made a killing during the Dubya years, mixed in with NRA-types, flag waving militarists, good ole nigger-hating racists and, last but not least, most of the left side of the Bell Curve of American IQ: the amazing variety of morons populating the USA. Truly, the McCain voters are the worst of the worst, not only because they are so gloriously stupid, but because McCain appeals to their worst, most evil character traits.
Yeah, I know - Obama voters are naive as hell, they are kidding themselves, they believe in the constant stream of propaganda the idiot box is spewing at them. Obama voters sometime are ideological Party automatons which would vote for *any* Democrat (even a SOB like Liebermann); others will vote for him only because of the color of his skin. All this is true, but the contrast with the McCain voters could still not be greater.
To sum it up, while Obama voters are gullible McCain voters are evil to the core. Let me repeat this here: Obama voters will mostly vote for Obama because what they think is the good things they see in him. McCain voters will vote for him because of the evil the see in him.
McCain voters want to kill them AYE-rabs and "win" the war in Iraq, they want to teach them Russians and Chinese a lesson about how America is great, they want to kick the "Latinos" back across the Rio Grande, they want guns to shoot at any terrorist who might show up in their trailer park, they want to get cheap gas into their SUVs and fuck up any raghead who dares to mess with the US of A. Either that, or they want to keep the millions of dollars they made during Dubya's reign. Both of these groups have the same message to the rest of the world: fuck the UN! fuck the Eurotrash! fuck all them foreigners who dare to bash America the Greatest! America: love it or leave it! These colors don't run! Support our troops! Nuke all the al-Qaeda bases in Iran and Russia!!!
A good way to visualize these guys is to think of Neanderthal on his Harley-Davidson bike with a US flag and a KIA-MIA flag flapping behind his back, or a pimply nerd in a suit and tie on the way to a to a 'mega-church' meeting, or a lawyer or banker with a huge house (usually of breathtaking bad taste) on a lakeside or oceanfront. Sure - these are all very different creatures, but McCain unites them all in one all-encompassing promise of more violence, more boots, more guns, more uniforms, more wars and more money.
Does all this matter? Yes and no. No matter who gets elected, the Neocons and the Zionist Lobby will remain in power. Yes, I know the old "Anglo" guard (Rockfeller, Brezinsky & Co.) is pushing the Obama candidacy while the Neocons and the Israel Lobby (Liebermann, Giuliani & Co.) seem to be uniformly backing McCain, and there is some truth to this, but you can be sure that the ZioCon Puppet Masters have already made plans for the (still likely) victory of Obama and that, should he be elected, he will be as obedient to them as Bill Clinton was.
It is very important to stress here that there is a "Third America" out there. Its the America of Ron Paul, Ralph Nader, Pat Buchanan, Cynthia McKinney and, even more so, of the millions who disillusioned Americans from all walks of life who will simply not vote at all. I actually feel that they are the real majority in this country, the political system has simply totally excluded them from any form of representation. This "Third America" does not agree on everything, in fact, they disagree on many important issues, but they agree on a basic set of fundamental principles: they want the USA to be a *normal* country (and not an Empire), they want the USA to be a *republic* and not some bizarre "Fascist Plutocracy", they think that the national interests of the USA are more important than the ones of Israel, they think that wars should be fought only to repel an aggressor and that the USA has no business ruling the entire planet (something which even most Democrats and prospective Obama voters do *not* understand or agree with).
So here is what will happen in November: the worst of the worst will vote for McCain and the naive but generally well-meaning folks will vote Obama. Those who understand the system (be it on a gut-level or analytically) will either vote for Nader or simply say away from this entire circus.
See, the *real* function of the Presidential elections in the USA is *not* to bring the Executive Power in sync with the popular will. The real purpose is to offer a spectacle, a "secular liturgy" if you wish, whose main purpose in to instill a sense of relevance, of legitimacy of the system, into the American public. If for a full year the corporate media bombards the population with debates, polls, talkshows, reports and all sorts of dramatic (if irrelevant) scandals about the candidates this just must be an important event, no?! Actually not. It exactly that: a media-event with absolutely no relevance or purpose other than to numb out an already totally stupidified public.
So how should we, foreigners, look at this amazing "secular liturgy?
Here is my advice to my fellow "aliens" (this is how they call us in the USA). Set aside all other considerations and just remember these basic pointers:
a) if you hate the USA - hope for a McCain victory as he will run the US Empire into the ground even faster than Obama ever will.
b) if you love the USA - hope for an Obama victory: while Obama voters are naive, they are ashamed and disturbed by the burning hatred with which most countries now see the USA and they want to change that. Obama voters do want to be part of Planet Earth and they do sincerely care about the rest of the world (McCain voter don't give a damn and if you oppose them they will "motherfucking nuke you!" to teach you a lesson).
c) and if you love Americans, but hate what the USA has become - then reach out to the "Third America", show it your support and understanding. Never let the "Obama illusion" hide the existence of these millions of "other Americans" who suffer deeply from what is being done to their country and how are forced into a type of internal exile (just like real Russian patriots during the Soviet era).
As for my American readers, I can only urge you *not* to vote for any of the two clowns running for the two factions of the War Party. If you believe that the system can be changed from within, if you have any hope at all, then vote for Nader or McKinney (Ron Paul is not running anymore). And if you think (like I do) that the system is non-reformable, that it is a charade, that is is an integral part of the problem - then stay away from this "secular liturgy" and go and read Alexander Solzhenitsyn's brilliant and still highly relevant piece Live not by the Lie (and remember that the Soviet system was brought down exactly as predicted by Solzhenitsyn).
But whatever you do, do not vote for the presumed "lesser evil". Vote your conscience or don't vote at all.
The Saker