We'll get more of the same.

Could be I'm just plain stupid. And that I don't get it. Yes, I can't fully understand what's going on in America. In the political realm, that is. If I am to believe the opinion polls, the Republican ticket of John McCain and Sarah Palin have a fighting chance of defeating Democrats Barack Obama and John Biden. It's close. Like a toss-up, I'm being told by the news media. But I see what has happened to America in the last 8 years under a Republican Administration. And it seems to me akin to a disaster. America has gone down hill. The economy is a shambles. We're mired in a disastrous and costly and unnecessary war. There's an enormous and ever-widening gap between the rich and poor. We have close to 50 million Americans without health insurance. Money-lending institutions are failing left and right. Unemployment is increasing rapidly. The value of the dollar is at one of the lowest ebbs in history. And here we are being sold a bill of goods that would give the Republicans 4 more years and they'll fix the problems. Pretty much with the same old shell game they've practiced for the past 8 years under George Bush. Just seems to me that it should be no contest. The Democrats should win by a landslide. Both in the presidential and the congressional elections. But I'm being told that ain't the case. At least on the presidential level. That at this stage, it could go either way. Yes, I'm baffled. I wonder if it's all a hoax. What are Americans thinking? Do we want to commit collective suicide? I know we elected ourselves 8 years of George Bush politics. One term wasn't enough. So we gave him a second term. And maybe still, we haven't learned our lesson. In essence, we might give Bush the equivalent of a third term. By proxy. With McCain-Palin. Oh, they are telling us it'll be different. That they'll almost single-handedly clean up Washington and fix everything that's wrong with America. In fact, McCain suggests that there really isn't much of anything wrong with the economy. Just a litttle tinkering here and there and everything will be all right. Yes, this from a man who has supported Bush policies 90 percent of the time. Imagine that. A little tinkering. Well, that's where I don't get it. I think we need big, big change. Enormous change. A new way. Because the old ways haven't worked. We need an overhaul of the nation's economy and political system. And believe me, we ain't gonna get it under McCain-Palin. We'll get more of the same. --Jim Broede