Saturday, April 15, 2006
I wish the President wouldn't act this way
I voted against John Kerry with far more enthusiasm than I voted for George Bush. Whether I was right or wrong, I agree with Greg Djerejian that neither man speaks and acts seriously about matters of great moment. Why is our system elevating such lightweights to the top job? Are our leaders so shallow and frivolous because we are, or at least expect them to be? That is my greatest fear.
7 Comments:
By 
, at
Sat Apr 15, 12:58:00 PM:
That's funny -- I voted against Bush far more enthusiastically than I voted for Kerry.
The lightweight issue bugs me too. I can't remember a time when I didn't vote for the lesser of two evils. I would love to be enthusiastic about a candidate, but I begin to think it will never happen.
Why are we stuck with such bland, shallow non-entities? Well, I think the centrality of money in the campaign system has something to do with it. These days, you have to sell your soul 20 times over to get elected county dog catcher.
Is it possible to make it to the national stage with your principles intact under those circumstances? Maybe not. The system seems to reward the narcissistic and insincere.
By , at
Sat Apr 15, 09:23:00 PM:
Wow, disenchantment with the leaders of our country. Join the other 99% of people, through the entire era of representative democracy.
By 
Georg Felis, at
Sun Apr 16, 01:08:00 AM:
I think what you see in President Bush’s poll numbers is multifold.
1. The war in Iraq has mutated into Northern Ireland. Nobody likes that.
2. The economy is going pretty darned good. Too bad no mainstream media reporter says much about it.
3. Oil prices are darned high, despite a *Huge* amount in storage. The futures market is clogged with buyers willing to run the prices up, China is buying a lot more oil as they expand, and everybody is a little leery of what could happen in Disarabia.
4. The Dems are in full cry mode, complaining about… well, everything. Reminds me of the old Bloom Country strips where the Editor had a one phrase answer to everything bad. “It’s Reagan’s Fault” Now, everything including Global Climate Change, is Bush’s Fault. No solutions, just complaints.
5. We haven’t had a major or minor successful attack in the US since 9/11/01. With no immediate presence of Wolves, the Sheep have begun to complain about how expensive the Sheep Dog is.
6. Conservatives have not seen their pet ideas get top billing. No massive attack on Roe vs. Wade, no vetoing of obscene spending bills (passed by Republican House and Senate), no massive attempt to wall off the border.
7. Liberals have seen a massive shift away from their pet ideas. Genuine Conservatives taking Judicial positions, a stronger military being used for military purposes instead of meals on wheels, and a foreign policy that does not depend on permission from France before we do anything.
8. A general tiredness of public opinion. After all, he’s been blamed in the press for *everything* that has gone wrong in the world, how could you look a pollster in the… phone, and say you support him?
Sorry for the post length.
By Assistant Village Idiot, at
Sun Apr 16, 01:45:00 PM:
Be cautious. Lincoln was frequently accused of being unserious, cracking jokes about the war.
I will have to say at this point, any blog or comment that mentions the president's low polling numbers usually elicits the response "doesn't get it" from me.
By Dawnfire82, at
Mon Apr 17, 12:10:00 AM:
He was asked a question to which he had no idea what the answer was, and chuckled. Gods forbid that the President be allowed to laugh at something he finds amusing.
By Lanky_Bastard, at
Mon Apr 17, 09:28:00 AM:
Look, we could have elected someone smarter or more qualified. Instead we elected someone who promised to surround himself with good people. You gotta expect stuff like this. And to people who want to defend the president, remember that it's not just jaded liberals laughing at him and conservatives wincing. People all over the world laugh and wince.
Maybe someday we'll realize that the president works for us and we'll change the way we elect them. To start, I'd do away with the "debate" and "platform" terminology and start looking at them as "job interviews" and "resumes".
By Cassandra, at
Tue Apr 18, 11:24:00 AM:
/peevish rant pre-emptively deleted.
What Mycroft and Dawnfire said. In spades.
