Step Right Up Folks!

Hopefully everyone took the time to watch last night's presidential debate at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.




There was no memorable line like "Senator ... you're no Jack Kennedy".

However, there was one odd moment that will make the highlight reel.



Regardless of how it was intended, John McCain's reference to Obama as "that one" is racially suspect at best.




However, there something else that bothered me about this selected clip and the debate as a whole. This was John McCain's repeated use of the phrase "my friends".

In this 1:32 clip alone he uses the phrase twice.

Would it surprise you if I told you that in roughly 45 minutes of allotted talking time McCain used the phrase "my friends" 18 times and "my friend" 4 additional times?

He is obviously trying to borrow a phrase once used sparingly by Reagan in the 1980s. President Reagan used it in his second Inaugural Address.

However, McCain's diarrhetic use of "my friends" makes him come off like some kind of snake oil salesman.




Jingoist, Sarah Palin also likes to shamelessly borrow from Ronald Reagan.

Her repeated use of John Winthrop's “shining city upon a hill” ideal comes from Reagan's Farewell Address to the Nation on January 11th, 1989.

Here is the the problem.

Today's neoconservative Republican in no way resembles a Reagan Republican. True Reagan Republicans from the 80's believed in small government, less spending, and general isolationism.

George Bush has dramatically increased the size of government in everyday life, spent more than any president in office and started a worldwide campaign of nation building.

It is no wonder the bailout bill failed to pass the House Republicans the first time around.




In the end, this is what will finally sink John McCain.




*Forget about retirees who have watched their retirement account vanish.
*Forget about concerned parents who have watched college funds vanish.
*John can even forget about his beloved Reagan Republicans.

Perhaps McCain should have spent less time worrying about famous Ronald Reagan quotes, and spent more time listening to my buddy Bill.

"It's the economy, Stupid"