Vote 2004

We have two disappointing presidential candidates to vote for Tuesday in my opinion and many of my friends. I’ll vote for George as the lesser of two unqualified people to guide our nation thru these times of so much conflict and controversy. But I am a long way from being a happy camper and the third or fourth parties are no consolation. George and his insiders have caused a lot of stress on this nation but I believe the two Johns would cause a lot more stress on most of us. No point in debating each ones strengths and weaknesses, they certainly have many of each and these attributes or weaknesses have been thoroughly exploited.

No matter who wins this election, both parties are going to have to do some serious soul searching and make some major changes in their Central Committees. However, there are many others who should take some of the responsibility for the nation being so distrustful of each other and so divided. Some of the one issue voters should be ashamed of themselves. Instead of seeking solutions, they wish to cast stones. Uninformed people lack shame because in their ignorance they believe themselves to be right. Most people are so wrapped up in themselves and their cell phones and TV’s that they have no time to study what the real situations are in their own community or in their own country let alone what happening in the real world.

I made a lot of phone calls supporting an incumbent candidate the last three nights and had a quite receptive response when I stated the candidates name, party and position he was seeking to continue to hold. Still, a couple of people hung up before I got to the fourth word and one guy said “tell me who you are and I’ll decide whether I want to talk to or not”. Otherwise out of 190 households who were around to personally answer the phone, most were quite polite. Unfortunately, not many questions were asked about the candidate’s background and why he deserved to be reelected. Not many were interested in whether he was a team player, most questioned what party he represented. I know people believe they can determine a person’s ability by the party they represent. The predominant feeling is that if you belong to a party vote a straight ticket. Thinking people often question the candidate. Those who follow party lines without question would not prevent another Hitler from taking power.

Yes, we are divided, opinionated or no opinion at all, sometimes only one issue matters to the voter, but by working reasonably well together and by preventing too many bloated bureaucracies to run our lives, we have had large measure of success since July 4, 1776. We are a material nation and greed and envy cause many of the have-nots to look for a socialist government. That we are becoming more socialist should be of great concern to those of us who do honest labor for our needs. Many of the wealthy and famous become materialist and arrogant and disregard the opinions of others.

This country is in need of a great and good leader, one who can get elected and we need him or her soon. Unfortunately, in my opinion, neither Hillary nor Arnold measures up for 2008. That does not necessarily spell doom and gloom for the next eight years as we are still probably the most democratic country in the world.

We seek people to run for office who are intelligent, flexible, reliable, have an ability to communicate, who respect themselves and others and who accept the responsibility of the office. Unfortunately the media will look for any mistake the candidate ever made, then if they do not like that candidate they will use their power to try to demean the person. This prevents and has prevented many potentially great leaders from ever seeking office. While we know that all people will make mistakes as they are human, never underestimate the power of people who buy paper by the carload and ink by the barrel. However, to not acknowledge a serious mistake before running for office is also not a divine right!!

Many millions of people have died and suffered to give you at least a chance to vote. That your choices are limited at this point does not matter. Vote to the best of your knowledge believing you are supporting the right candidates for this countries future.