This election campaign is rapidly heating up. As of now (Mar. '07) there are about 15 individuals running for the Democratic or Republican nomination. Each candidate is proclaiming his or her unique qualifications that show his or her ability to lead the country. Various big wigs in each party, plus well known business people and celebrities are already endorsing their choice and contributing money.
Main street media; newspapers, magazines, the major TV networks, etc., will be leading the way, telling us what they think are the positives and negatives of each candidate. Already deep into the battle are the cable news channels, opinion journalists, and talk radio hosts. They will of course all be "fair". You will also hear a lot of what is known as the "politics of personal destruction". This is the negative campaigning that we have all had to listen to every election. Various charges are laid out to demonstrate the moral corruption of the other candidate(s).
Then there are the debates. This will be our chance to watch the candidates in action. The debates are carefully orchestrated, with representatives of the various contenders getting together to agree on what questions may and may not be asked. In early 2008 the 2 major parties will hold their primaries throughout the country and select a nominee. Then the process will begin all over again. This will be the main event, the election of our President! Isn't this great. With all this exposure we will be able to elect the best person. Well, maybe and maybe not!
You see, if you think about it, what you are going to be hearing throughout this campaign is the propaganda of the usual party politics. Each party is going to tell us the same old stuff they have always told us. The Republicans will be portrayed as the party of the rich and big business. The Democrats will be charged as the party of special interests and high taxes. Since this is a presidential election year, the nominee of each party will have to fight against these various labels and convince us that this time it really is different. They will say that this is the most important election ever facing the American people and each one will tell us how qualified he or she is.
The real question is however, are they the only qualified candidates? Why should we believe that only someone who has a college education, or has been successful in business, or served in the military at a high rank is qualified to be President? Can a person only be qualified after having been governor of a state or mayor of a large city? Is a career politician from either of the 2 major parties the best choice? Is it because they are so wise in the ways of power that they were able to get things done? Are these experiences the only measures we can use to select our President?
What we really have been doing all these years is "HOLDING OUR NOSES AND VOTING FOR THE LESSER OF TWO EVILS"!! Let's be honest. Haven't we been watching over the years as these folks argued and bickered with each other and made a mess of things? Haven't you said to yourself many times, "Man, if I was there I could do a better job than they are doing"? Guess what? You could, and I'll tell you why.
Every year we get a unique opportunity to see how all these qualified people lead. It's called 'The State of the Union Address'. This event, mandated in our Constitution, is the time when all 537 of our great leaders get together as the President speaks to us about our country. On one side of the aisle sit the Democrats, and on the other side sit the Republicans. When the President makes some great comment, the members of his party stand up and clap loudly, even cheering, while the other side remains silent or offers a polite clap or two. The only time they all cheer loudly is when the President mentions the military or "the children". Everyone is always for those two groups. This PARTISANSHIP IS THE QUALIFICATION THAT PASSES ITSELF OFF AS LEADERSHIP!!
These individuals are no different than you or me. We all have faults and weaknesses, we've all made mistakes in life. We also have our virtues as well. However, there are differences between us and these elites. We get up every day and go to work at our 40 hours a week jobs. We have to pay our bills on the salary that we earn. We deal with the problems our kids have in school, we shuffle them around to dance classes or baseball practice or the doctor's office. When the car breaks down, we scramble to find a way to get to work, figure out how to repair the darn thing, or else take out a loan to buy another one. Maybe we save a few bucks along the way, but we know in the end we are dependent upon Social Security for our retirement. Living in the real world is for us, the everyday experience. Cranky neighbors, a rude store clerk, a tired police officer who has seen one too many idiots run a red light; these kinds of incidents are things we face every day. Sometimes, we are the ones causing the problem. As such, we face the consequences of our actions, we pay the fine or the ticket, or worse.
We do not however, live in the sheltered world of the politicians. They ride in limousines and have special parking privileges. They don't pay parking tickets. Their kids go to private schools and Ivy League universities. They get the best medical care, immediately. Their retirement packages are outrageous compared to what we get!
I said I would show you why any of us could do a better job than these folks. It boils down to a few simple things; RESPONSIBILITY FOR OUR ACTIONS, COMMON SENSE, THE NOTION OF BEING STRAIGHT UP IN OUR DEALINGS WITH EACH OTHER, THE CAPACITY TO CARE, THE ABILITY TO THINK CLEARLY ABOUT A PROBLEM AND ARRIVE AT A FAIR SOLUTION, THE DETERMINATION TO STICK WITH IT TO ACCOMPLISH A GOAL! These aspects of an individual are the core of a person's character that are vital to what I believe it means to be qualified to be President. There are for sure, other attributes to being President, and I intend to discuss them in other platforms in this website.
You can believe if you want to the propaganda that says only they have the wisdom to fix the problems of our country, only they have the diplomatic skills to deal with other world leaders on the international stage. They will tell you, rightly so, that America is facing unprecedented challenges, that the world is more dangerous than ever. And, they will tell you that because these things are so, you must elect one of them. Imagine; now that the stakes are truly high, we should once again trust the same group of partisan, career politicians.
On other pages in this website, I will be writing about the many issues facing our country: Iraq and the Middle East, taxes, immigration, Social Security, health care, the global economy, national security, and more. In each discussion, I intend to not only propose solutions, but to also show how our current leaders have continually failed us. Along the way, I will also explain how you and I together are going to fix this mess.
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