Ultimately, i am starting to believe, you end up coming back to you original beliefs. Growing up as a child of the Reagan and Bush #1 administrations i had nothing but disdain for politicians and politics in general. Somewhere during the Clinton administration i developed some sense of hope that politicians held some potential when it came to improving the world, on some level at least.
Then the Gore/Bush battle came. In Gore i found someone whom actually was passionate about the environment and i saw some hope. In Bush #2 i saw a return to the politics that i grew up detesting. We all know how that turned out. Then came the Bush/Kerry election where i was energized to end the reign. Again, we know how that worked out.
So i am left with this year's presidential election. i have gone from volunteering to drive people to the polls so that they could vote and bringing donated food & drink to voters who had to wait in long lines after they had left a full day of work to now seriously contemplating not voting at all. What do you do with this group of candidates?
i should be excited at a possible historic changing of the guards. We are the only democracy who has not elected a female into our highest office. Here we have a serious female contender. We are also an incredibly diverse country yet have never had anything other than rich white males as president. Here we are with a serious black contender. However, i find myself not sure either are what we need at this turning point in our civilization. What about these candidates?
Hillary, wife to the man who instilled some sense of hope when it comes to politics. She is impressively intelligent and has a strong, tested, work ethic. The problem: her level of compromise. Once you start compromising you beliefs it gets easier and easer to compromise them as time goes by. Possibly it started with her health care goals during Bill's administration, maybe it started before that. Somewhere she first compromised and i think she has done so many times since in the name of trying to get to her ultimate goal. Can i trust her to stand strong in the White House or will she compromise again in the political game?
Obama. In junior high school we had this thing called Spirit Club where once a month we had an assembly and this crazy lady in corduroys who looked like Chuck Norris's sister would yell into a microphone and get everybody excited. Obama speeches kind of remind me of those assemblies. He gets everybody all excited but i do not really hear a whole lot being said. He constantly speaks of change, yet i have not heard anything said that is all that different than the usual politics. Who is not going to be different than Bush #2? Does he really stand for anything?
McCain. Good, for a Republican, i suppose. If i thought Hillary was compromised i need to devise a new term for the level of compromise McCain has demonstrated. Calling out Bush then getting back on his leash to tow the party line. Over and over again, and then once more. Disappointing. Looking at past presidents and how much they age while in office i also wonder if McCain can make it? And, what is up with his stance on the War in Iraq? Scary stuff.
So what do i have? None of these people represent me. None of them have lived a life anything like mine or anyone i know. None of them seem to have any idea how a majority of Americans live on a daily basis. i feel a return to the politics of my youth coming on. Can the world handle more of that?
Christopher Walken is starting to seem like a better and better option to me. As usual, survey to the right.
