We’ve heard about change, now some specifics, please

We’ve heard about change, now some specifics, please

And now there are two presidential campaigns running on the change ticket, and, thus far, the American people know very little about what those changes will entail and how it will be accomplished.

There was some irony this past week as the Republicans, who had been attacking Barack Obama as a celebrity candidate, held their own convention during which the most rousing speech was made by the newest GOP celebrity, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Sen. John McCain’s choice for a vice presidential running mate electrified the party, including many who knew little or nothing about her — save a rather compelling life story.

After the Democratic National Convention, we wrote, “the Democratic nominee must not only define his candidacy in terms of the general election, but offer specific solutions to the problems he contends have been created during the eight years of Republican President George Bush’s tenure.”

That same sentence could be written today in the wake of the Republican National Convention, changing only the subject from the Democratic nominee to the Republican nominee.

The nation faces 60 days of presidential campaigning during which voters should be telling all of the candidates, “OK, we get it, you’re for change. Now tell us more.”

Emotional responses

Obama electrified his audience in Denver, calling on them to “pledge once more to march into the future. Let us keep that promise, that American promise, and in the words of Scripture hold firmly, without wavering, to the hope that we confess.”

McCain’s words were drowned out by cheering crowds as he exhorted his audience to “stand up for each other; for beautiful, blessed, bountiful America. ... Stand up, stand up, stand up and fight. Nothing is inevitable here. We’re Americans, and we never give up. We never quit. We never hide from history. We make history.”

Both audiences — and television audiences at home — were touched and inspired by what they heard. But oratory only goes so far.

Essentially, both candidates have promised to provide more — although in Obama’s case the more is essentially in social services, in McCain’s case more for defense — and both have pledged to cut taxes of various kinds.

OK, we get it. You’re for doing more with less. And just how are you going to that? And how, exactly are you going to create jobs, rebuild infrastructure, improve education, resupply and rebuild overtaxed military forces, shore up the sagging dollar, address the challenges of energy independence, re-establish or shore up historic military alliances necessary to fight terrorism and address the rising cost of medical care.

Each of the campaigns has given partial answers to some of those questions, but there are a lot of questions still to be asked in a relatively short time.

A book as yet unwritten

And it will be interesting to see how many of those questions are answered by Gov. Palin. She burst onto the scene and electrified her party, but so far her exposure to the American people has been controlled and scripted. After she returns to Alaska for a few days with her oldest son, who is being deployed to Iraq, she will return to the campaign trail. McCain, Obama and his running mate Sen. Joe Biden, have made dozens of appearance on Sunday morning news shows and been subjected to hundreds of interviews. Their knowledge on matters of national interest are open books.

Sarah Palin has a lot of catching up to do in 60 days. A succession of stump speeches and one vice presidential debate will not tell the American people what they must know before casting a ballot that would make her the vice president of the United States.

Ohio and Pennsylvania are two of the key battleground states. While there has been a lot of talk about shifts among a few southern or western states, conventional wisdom still holds that which ever candidate carries two of the three states of Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan will make it to the White House. We look forward to all of the candidates addressing issues of importance to the nation, but especially issues important to us right here in the Mahoning and Shenango valleys.