My opinion is that I don't care if it's a man or a woman in the white house. I don't care if they're black, white, yellow, green or blue. None of that should be a deciding factor when choosing a person to run the most amazing country in the history of the world.
What should matter is character, qualifications and past record so we can see who they really are. Of course to many Americans, that doesn't matter as much as what their candidate happened to pull off in the genetic lottery. People are idiots, and they'll sit back and let a bunch of spin doctors make their decisions for them.
Now as for choosing the President, do we have a choice? Does our vote count? Yes, I believe it does, on election day. We will choose one of two people. But prior to that day, the media, under the direction of some of the most powerful political strategists in the world, will form our opinions for us. The primaries will be decided based on news stories about whether a particular individual is 'electable' or not. I have no illusions about the fact that the people that survive the primaries are there because someone wanted them there, not because they were put there by the American voter.
In the end, we'll have two choice, both carefully selected and crafted by people that have more power, money and influence than any of us. We will cast our vote on election day for the least objectionable of the two and we'll have a new President. And, I'm sorry to say, neither option will actually be the best choice to run this country.
I listen to the gab about the early-in Republican candidates and here we are, a year and a half away from the election and we're being told daily who is electable and who isn't. It's part of the plan. People like Karl Rove will destroy an amazing candidate on his own side to get his bought and paid for puppet into the final race. The same thing will happen on the Dem side too, make no illusion about that - both sides are owned by huge money, and that's just a sad, sad fact.
Our best bet to keep a crappy President under control is to try and have some sway over Congress. And while those battles can be similarly rigged by big money, they can be easier for us to influence when we get enough well-informed people involved. We also know we can put considerable pressure on Congress through our actions. One thing we have going for us, even against the big money folks in Washington is numbers. We can swing votes, we can affect outcomes and we can change the direction of politics, but it only works when we can all be well informed and pool our efforts en masse. Unfortunately, Joe and Janet American just don't care enough most of the time to do that.
For now, I have no idea who I'll vote for. By the time a primary makes it to Oregon, the choices will already have been made for us. But come November, we'll get a say. I just hope the least objectionable isn't going to sell us out completely, though that's likely a pipe dream.
What should matter is character, qualifications and past record so we can see who they really are. Of course to many Americans, that doesn't matter as much as what their candidate happened to pull off in the genetic lottery. People are idiots, and they'll sit back and let a bunch of spin doctors make their decisions for them.
Now as for choosing the President, do we have a choice? Does our vote count? Yes, I believe it does, on election day. We will choose one of two people. But prior to that day, the media, under the direction of some of the most powerful political strategists in the world, will form our opinions for us. The primaries will be decided based on news stories about whether a particular individual is 'electable' or not. I have no illusions about the fact that the people that survive the primaries are there because someone wanted them there, not because they were put there by the American voter.
In the end, we'll have two choice, both carefully selected and crafted by people that have more power, money and influence than any of us. We will cast our vote on election day for the least objectionable of the two and we'll have a new President. And, I'm sorry to say, neither option will actually be the best choice to run this country.
I listen to the gab about the early-in Republican candidates and here we are, a year and a half away from the election and we're being told daily who is electable and who isn't. It's part of the plan. People like Karl Rove will destroy an amazing candidate on his own side to get his bought and paid for puppet into the final race. The same thing will happen on the Dem side too, make no illusion about that - both sides are owned by huge money, and that's just a sad, sad fact.
Our best bet to keep a crappy President under control is to try and have some sway over Congress. And while those battles can be similarly rigged by big money, they can be easier for us to influence when we get enough well-informed people involved. We also know we can put considerable pressure on Congress through our actions. One thing we have going for us, even against the big money folks in Washington is numbers. We can swing votes, we can affect outcomes and we can change the direction of politics, but it only works when we can all be well informed and pool our efforts en masse. Unfortunately, Joe and Janet American just don't care enough most of the time to do that.
For now, I have no idea who I'll vote for. By the time a primary makes it to Oregon, the choices will already have been made for us. But come November, we'll get a say. I just hope the least objectionable isn't going to sell us out completely, though that's likely a pipe dream.
