I'm not certain this will be at all cohesive, since I'm writing it at 3 in the morning. I am certain however that as a result, it won't be half as good as something of this magnitude demands. Anyway, this article is a pretty succint summary of the presidential candidates' views. The decision for me was pretty difficult. My disappointment with some of Bush's actions over the last four years, versus my absolute disgust for and mistrust of John Kerry versus my skepticism of Nader because he lives in a fantasy land. It annoys me that at such a pivotal time in our country's history, we're faced with such options for who will lead us for the next four years. In an ideal world you wouldn't be playing "The Lesser of the Evils" on election day.
From an issue standpoint (barring all acts of terrorism) who holds the Oval Office won't really affect my life. I mean if Bush remains in office, we'll have a little extra money this year. But I could do with or without, it's not life-changing. I'm not gay and in need of marriage, my family and friends are not in Iraq, I don't abort as a means of birth control, I'm only semi-religious and I don't own any property. In the end it probably won't matter which of the rich, white men who don't give a fuck about me take office.
First and foremost, I work in PR so I don't buy into the hype that people seem to spout like it's fact. My issues with W have nothing to do with the bandwagon crap other people quote to sound politically-inclined and intelligent. Mispronouncing words is embarrassing but not an indication of stupidity. Otherwise we're all pretty fucking stupid, it's just that no one knows it because we don't have cameras in our face 24-7. And yes, W used his father's influence and wealth to get where he did but who in politics didn't? *AHEM The Kennedys* I think the only person who didn't use political influence to get into office was Jesse Ventura. And you saw how that turned out. I also realize that the economy is cyclical, and that the facts that the economy did well during the reign of Clinton but not W is not a reflection of their presidencies. My issues with W are that I think his stubborness, arrogance, religious fervor and the inconsistencies in his beliefs make the Republican Party look bad. Look up his policies on stem cell research. The inconsistencies will make your head spin.
The thing is, I genuinely think that the number one most important issue in this election is the war in Iraq. And the people who are most affected, the people who are literally putting their lives on the line, are overwhelmingly in favor of President Bush. I have a distinct problem with the idea of sitting in my heated/air-conditioned house, eating steak and garlic mashed potatoes for dinner, watching re-runs of Friends all night and painting my toenails... then going out and deciding that I know what's best for some guy sleeping in the dirt getting bombs thrown at him. He's told me what he wants, but I, in all my comfort and glory, am going to ignore him and vote for someone he doesn't trust and doesn't want to making decisions about his life. I have a major problem with that. I also have a major problem with my gut feeling that if I support Kerry, it's because terrorists have successfully scared me into it.
Kerry seems to have good intentions despite the cloak of sleaze, but he doesn't seem to have much of a spine. Look at the woman he married. A bi-polar psycho who loves to postulate on the plight of the Great Unwashed from her diamond pedestal. He waffles back and forth on issues like it's nobody's business. It's so obvious that he just says whatever anyone wants to hear. Two months ago he was saying he would have gone into Iraq as well, but planned it a lot better. Two weeks ago he was saying he would never have invaded Iraq. You know what's scarier than someone who has strong beliefs? Someone who doesn't know what he believes. But he probably would do a lot better at courting the world's love. He couldn't do worse. My foot couldn't do worse. But hey, Tony Blair loves us.
That story about Kerry saying he was going to throw away his medals then throwing someone else's was funny as all hell though. That's beyond shrewd. He got to make an impactful statement and impress people with his sacrifice, while not having to sacrifice anything at all. Maybe he'd make a good President after all. It's quite a skill to make people happy with you, without actually having to make any concessions.
Well my vote was just a useless drop in the bucket. I'm not in my state's dominant party and I don't live in Ohio, Pennsylvania or Florida. Which is fine, because I didn't want my vote to matter anyway. I don't want any responsibility in the outcome of this supremely disgusting election. Incidentally, I have no problem with the popular vote being useless. Although people in the big, liberal cities love to think that they should decide everything for everyone, the fact of the matter is that our country is largely comprised of smaller areas. And those areas have concerns that people in the cities can't even begin to discuss. I don't know shit about agriculture. We're not just Los Angeles, DC, New York, Houston and Chicago, much as we who were raised in the big cities like to think we are.
What does bug me is this:
It's nothing but blue over here. But I'm used to it. I grew up in California for God's sake. I find it amusing that Bush is winning the popular vote by such a large margin. Think any liberals will eat crow if Bush wins the popular vote but not the presidency? Somehow I doubt it. I love the hypocritical game that both liberals and conservatives play.
One thing could redeem the tri-state area in my bitter eyes...
GIULIANI IN 2008.
No comments:
Post a Comment