Wednesday, January 23, 2008

KEEP THE GLOVES ON

For those in the mediocre media who think that voter dissatisfaction with presidential candidates who make personal attacks, spread vicious lies, or run negative ads is worthy of coverage, they might do well to remember that this conduct is part of our history and our culture, and it’s perfectly legal. “It’s the cover-up, stupid.” , that will get you in trouble. Unlike other countries where opponents are jailed or killed, our campaigning process, while not lily-white, is essentially equally fair. It does not require that the “kids in the sandbox play nice-nice”.

Keep the gloves on; let’em go at it. I want to see the real candidate, not somebody spouting lines from a script. I want candidates to expose each others weaknesses, flaws, mistakes, and, yes, even sins. The office has too much power to turn it over to someone with a Madison Avenue persona or an unsavory past. I want to know if a lovable cowboy has any depth, or if an egghead has any soul. I want someone with as much judgment and wisdom as experience…. And they aren’t the same thing. As long as nobody gets harmed or incarcerated, negativity should not be a factor any more than race, gender, religion, or age should. Let’s not judge them by what they are, but by who they are.

One final thought, I once took a tour of the Capital Building in DC. The guide told us that in the country’s formative years Congress met in the Rotunda, with Federalists on one side and Democratic Republicans on the other. As pending legislation was debated, the parties would caucus from time to time. One of our founding fathers discovered an acoustical fault in the dome that amplified even a soft whisper. He and his party placed their chairs at that location and never let on that they were bugging their opponents' discussions. And now you know the rrrrrest of the story!

Monday, January 21, 2008

BILL CLINTON: ROCK STAR, VICTIM, OR RECKLESS

From the beginning of this presidential campaign, and increasingly with each passing day, Bill Clinton predictably seems to have influence on the race. The mediocre media seems to vacillate as to whether he is an asset or a liability. Perhaps the answer for each person lies in how he/she sees the Monica Lewinsky impeachment.

The time has come, because he has returned from the “sunset” that he faded into, and will now have a chance to shape the future of this country, for each voter to give serious consideration as to whether he is a rock star, a victim, or a pariah. Irrespective of your preference for president, ask yourself these two questions. Was Bill Clinton, knowing that the Republicans were watching his every move in order to tank his presidency, reckless with his action at the expense of the country? Had he “kept his nose clean”, would George Bush ever have beaten Al Gore, even with all of his stiffness and his choice of VP.

If you answer “yes” and “no” respectively, then you just might conclude that Bill Clinton bears a share of the responsibility for the serious damage that has been done to America and the world by the Bush Bandits.

ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

Well, the coming recession has become the campaign issue du jour. Yesterday it was the price of oil… or was it the war in Iraq…. or illegal immigration? It doesn’t take much for the candidates and mediocre media to push an important national problem to the archives. Have you noticed how shallow the debate questioning has been?

It’s as though the mediocre media moguls believe that the public can only pay attention to an issue at a time. I heard a talk show host respond to a caller’s question about illegal immigration by saying, “it’s not the most important issue.” Well, we have the capacity to deal with ALL of the problems at the same time. I, for one, do not want another president who can only address one problem at a time.

As I have postulated before, a large part of the American electorate chooses not to vote under the belief that no matter who wins, we will get a “just ruler.” This is the same belief that causes citizens of non-democratic governments to accept them. But, many Americans felt that Dubya became an unjust ruler, and that the “just ruler” principal is no longer reliable, and voted to shift some of the power in Congress to the Democrat Party. Good start.

Could it be that by marginalizing many legitimate election issues, Americans will not become “…mad as hell and not take it anymore!”? Could it be that the political parties can better run their campaign by relying on a familiar data base, rather trying to figure out how to identify newly motivated voters? Could it be that the mediocre media pollsters can better generate reliable results and protect their fragile credibility? We the electorate can take control of this election cycle by actively keeping all of our problems front and center and demand discussions and solution options from all candidates on all important national issues. If we don’t, it won’t only be mediocre media that we get.

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