Bye, Bye, John Sydney McCain, III!

There's nothing left to say about John Sidney McCain and so much to do to support the policies and priorities of President-elect Barack Obama. Let's get started!

Auto Industry October Stats Show Economy in Deep Crisis Mode

If the crisis in the American auto industry is any indication of the financial concern Americans will take into the voting booth tomorrow, a McCain (party in control) win would be a major miracle. The New York Times says today,

Vehicle sales in the United States tumbled to multi-decade lows in
October as tightened credit markets and an economic slowdown kept consumers away from dealerships.

General Motors on Monday reported an incredible 45 percent decline
in its sales, and Chrysler said its sales were down 35 percent. The Ford
Motor Company said it sold 30.2 percent fewer cars and trucks.
Toyota Motor said its sales were 23 percent lower, despite
offering no-interest financing and large discounts on many models. Sales were down 33 percent at Nissan and 25.2 percent at Honda. NYTimes

This is evidence of a generalized meltdown, not just of the American auto industry (Japanese car sales are only slightly better), but this is a meltdown of America's confidence in the economy and the ability to obtain credit to buy a car.

“If you adjust for population growth, this is probably the worst
industry sales month in the post-World War II era,” Mark LaNeve, G.M.’s vice president for sales in North America, said in a statement. “We believe there is considerable pent-up demand from the last three years, but until the credit markets open up and consumer confidence improves, the entire U.S. economy, and any industry like autos that relies on financing, will suffer.” NYTimes

John McCain is talking a lot about the "American Dream" on the campaign trail, but perhaps the first part of the American dream that any of us achieves, even before a high school diploma, is a drivers license and access to the family car. Even when we cannot afford to own a home, we can be proud of our cars and delight in the freedom they give us to move from place to place.

When Americans are doing all of that 40% less than they were last year, that's evidence of an economic crisis that goes far beyond the auto industry. One Ford executive cited in the above article describes the current Republican-led economic crisis as "similar to what we’ve seen after a natural disaster."

McCain Implicitly and Tacitly Concedes He's Unprepared for Oval Office

John McCain's campaign has been telling audiences and America that Barack Obama's preparations for the the Oval Office are presumptuous. If McCain really believes this, then he must also believe that it would be presumptuous for McCain himself to make preparations for the Oval Office. If so, we can assume that McCain hasn't made any preparations and would take the country on a misguided seat-of-its-pants roller coaster ride, much like McCain's own disjointed and lousy presidential campaign.

Are we really supposed to believe that McCain has made no preparations to take office? Yes, because McCain is so unlikely to win. Aside from promising plum ambassadorships to political contributors based on the amount of their contributions and bundling, John McCain is probably being entirely honest when he implicitly declaims having made any preparations for a transition. McCain is just as unprepared as his criticisms of Obama's preparations imply.