Im not clever when writing

But I do have fun with photoshop

Happy Halloweeen!

Bold New Republican Strategy; Failing Before The Election.

John McCain has once again playing as a mavrick as he parts ways with Bush and has decided to fail before the election.  While some may chalk the poll numbers up to Obama running a great campaign, I believe McCain deservses some fair credit for the effort he has put into not getting elected.

One only has to look at the last debate to appreciate how hard McCain is trying to fail. Rude and condecending remarks and actions like “that one” and walking off without shaking, while knowing we don’t want a petty commander-in-cheif. Waffling on his strongest issue national defence.  Saying he’s a mavrick and doing a bad imatation of Ronald Regan. All in all the debate showed McCain’s strong commitment to failure.

Another tally on the GOP’s history of nominating failures and another tally on McCain’s history of not being president.

Worried about McCain and Palin, well stop

I like most people have been worried about McCain and Palin. Really the scenario I most worry about is they get elected, and then she preforms some sort of soul stealing or mind control ritual on McCain (assuming he has either left at the end of the campaign). I guess its more likely that he will slip in the shower while she’s looking for the Orb of K’Thul. In any event I guess what I’m worried the most about is having Palin in control of the country. Her legacy as mayor and governor show that we may look back on the Bush-Cheney administration as the “good ol’ days” when government was more transparent.

But on the other hand we must remember that McCain has a very long history of not being president.

I am the Gatekeeper are you the Keymaster?

It sounded fun 2 years ago

I truly do love elections, and I also love the Olympics. Both come a round every four years, and I look forward to them with anticipation each time.

Then they arrive and the reality sets in; bad calls by referees and bad decisions by voters. Then the allegations of cheating (most likely well founded in both).

Then the repetition sets it; how many times can I watch them run in a circle, how many times can I see that ad. The Olympics luckily end before really turning me sour.  Then its just the election.

Then the dirt flies; attack ads, name calling, ad hominem attacks. After months of wading through the sewage it really becomes hard to care anymore, but we do. We trudge through any weather, and wait in long lines. We punch the holes in the cards, go home and watch the results.

With both democracy and athletic competition, the highest ideals of each is why we all care. Even when those ideas become veiled, it is our collective belief in those ideals that keeps us coming back.

Elitism our misunderstood ism

During this campaign I have noticed the term elitist being thrown around, but it seems no one seems to quite have a grasp on what elitism is. For example, at the RNC we heard Barack Obama being called an elitist, however I have not heard one example of how he is so. By all measure of his policies he is a populist.

After listening for a while I realized what was going on, they would state he was an elitist and then cite examples of how he is elite. The public seems to think that being elite and being an elitist are the same thing. Being elite simply means that one is on the top of the social or economic strata (often useful when running for president). Elitism is the belief that the elite are better, deserve more, or are better qualified.

One can be an elite with out being an elitist, and one can be an elitist without being elite. We have seen many times an elite individual who was far more concerned about the plight of the disadvantaged; Princess Di, Bono, Jimmy Carter, etc.

There are times when all of us are elitist, and its usually a good thing. When we are sick we see a doctor instead of someone who passed health class in high school, that is elitism. When we invest time in money in celebrities, that is elitism. When we elect a graduate of both Yale and Harvard such as Dub-ya, that is elitism (and shows its not always a good thing).

Speaking of Bush, we can see further confusion too. When he rides on a tractor, wears a cowboy hat and cuts taxes for the very wealthy, that’s still elitism.