Sunday, August 1, 2004

The Everyday Voter

Only have time for a quick jot this morning.  Doing another killer event where sales are dismal.  Three BAD events in a row...I think I'll have to kill myself on Monday morning, to save face!

We are at another county fair.  The fairs all have their requisite Democratic and Republican Parrty booths.  Lots of people walking around with their political leanings advertised on red, white, and blue stickers on their shirts, or lawn signs tucked under their arms.  My husband got into a political discussion last night with a Kerry supporter (who was probably a little worse for several beers on a hot day...)

The guy told my husband he had a son in the marines over in Iraq.  Said he wanted someone in the White House who "knew what it was like;"  NOT someone who lied to get into office, and then lied to drag the country into the war in Iraq.  So far, I was liking his philosophy.  Then he started spouting some weird stuff:

"Take a look at Kerry.  Put a beard and a top hat on him, and who does he look like?  Abraham Lincoln!  And what are his initials?  JFK!  Two of our greatest presidents!  So there's no doubt he's gonna be the third!"

Um...what?  Why do people have to get themselves SO convinced that a candidate is practically the second coming, and that's why he has earned their vote?  Kerry's okay....Kerry's fine.  I'm sure he'll do a good job if he's elected.    He's a decent senator, with a history of standing up for some things that I back , and caving in on other things that I don't.  The convention did a good job presenting him and his party to the American people.  But, Senator, he is no Abraham Lincoln.  Or John Kennedy, for that matter.  His major appeal for me is that he is NOT George Bush!

How I wish we could get through this election without resorting to dumb-ass reasons to vote!  There is too much going on in the country today to base decisions on this purely emotional drivel.   

 

 

7 comments:

  1. Lisa, I agree, but there's so much going on that it's overwhelming, and people pick what doesn't overwhelm them as a reason to vote far too often.  The catch about a democracy is that we often get the government we deserve, and that's a scary, scary thing.

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  2. I'm not sure that guy is so off base -- his reasoning may be a little goofy, but his heart is in a good place.  Lincoln wasn't the Lincoln we think of until the war challenged him, and we never did find out who JFK might have become.  But a significant number of people think of one or both of them as heroes, and that's what your guy wants -- a hero for a president.  Also (and part of heroism in my book), Lincoln and JFK were both capable of expansive generosity in spirit and speech -- and that's definitely something that I see in Kerry and not in Bush.

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  3. Now dat dere is funny....I don't care who you are!!!!!

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  4. We seem to have forgotten that some of JFK's best ideas got voted in because 1) there was just a little bit of guilt because he got killed. and 2) LBJ was a consummate arm twister who knew where the bodies were buried.

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  5. Well, I'm just sure glad he's not voting for G.W. because he looks like George Bush, Sr. Good luck with your event! :-) ---Robbie

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  6. I don't care WHY he votes for Kerry, as long as he doesn't vote for Bush.

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  7. I have to agree with you on that one. The choice is SOOO easy to make . Is it good to place more taxes on any one> Is it good to refer to the UN for anything much less when and how we should respond to attacks on our home soil. I dont mind liberals who know why they are liberals. But to vote for some one because they are not W Bush is kinda lame. Kerry just said he would have voted to go to Iraq even if he had know there was no WMD. So they are the same on that. Kerry promises to raise taxes. Dont that make you feel good. Will the rich eat this los of money? No they pass it on, hurting the poor and middle class.   oh well Orgeon is what it is. Oklahoma is what it is. Blue State, Red state. Kerry didnt even win Oklashoma in the Dem primary. So eventhe Dems here dont like him. He has a very huge problem with the truth. He has problems with his old "comrades" on the swift boats. ... He has an even bigger problem...Most Americans truerly like Bush..If he would have said I did not have sex with that women. He probably didnt.                                          W in 04           God bless America

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