This issue’s article was intended to focus on Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska and resuscitator of the McCain campaign, but what else can be said?  I could waste my column space discussing her lack of political knowledge, her lavish earmarks and the funds from the Bridge to Nowhere, her ambiguous ethics, or her attempt to ban library books, but I won’t. Anything I could say would be senseless reiteration of every other source of information currently screaming at the American public that Sarah Palin is a parody of our democratic system.

The news of recent weeks has been flooded with stories concerning Wall Street, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and federal bailouts stemming from taxpayers’ money. The American economy is in a whirlwind of bad investments, high interest rates, and unredeemable debt.

The Bush administration is hoping to bail out major Wall Street firms with about $700 billion, giving a blank check and a free pass to the banks that contributed to the economic decline. Palin recently flubbed a speech about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, claiming that taxpayers have paid too much for the corporations, when in the fact both corporations are privately owned. McCain claimed the “fundamentals of our economy are strong,” despite the train wreck currently occurring on Wall Street.

Just as the air from McCain’s incorrect assessment of the economy cleared, news surfaced about his connection to the now bankrupt corporation Freddie Mac.

McCain’s campaign manager, Rick Davis, has been collecting $15,000 every month since 2005 from the firm. This revelation directly contradicts McCain’s earlier statement on Sept. 21 that neither he nor Davis had any current connection to Freddie Mac.

Why is America applauding a candidate already guilty of lying to the American people? How can America trust the judgment of a man who once pushed for deregulation of the stock market but now supports the massive government bailout of bankrupt firms once the plan backfired?

Neither candidate is an economist, but how can a country desperately in need of financial strategy elect a man so far removed from the every day struggles of the average citizen? How can a man who cannot recall how many houses he owns (yes, seven) change corrupt mortgage systems that exploit working class families?

The country does not need another overly privileged man out of touch with the reality of the American people. As a candidate, Barack Obama offers a background of growing up in a single parent home and working hands-on with the communities of Chicago to improve the standard of living.

Obama hopes to change America’s priorities from Wall Street to Main Street (a line quickly adopted by the McCain campaign), offer severance packages for taxpayers and keep firms from charging outlandish interest without regulation.

Note: I began writing for Lee Clarion this semester in order to represent the minority political opinion on campus. My duty is to offer reputable information and my opinion from a liberal perspective. On the same page my Opinions column is printed, another column represents the conservative opinion. And as for my “geriatric racism,” commonly known as ageism, I do consider myself respectful of my elders (which is irrelevant to my political opinion). My grandfather is a caring, hardworking man, a veteran of the Korean War, and deserving of my utmost respect, but that does not mean I would vote for him to be president of the United States.