When a President goes through the White House doors
And does what he says he'll do
We'll all be drinking that free Bubble-Up
And eating that rainbow stew
Merle Haggard..."Rainbow Stew"
We must be the most gullible electorate walking the face of the earth. It's an election year again, another crop of "tell 'em what they want to hear" politicians are talking out of both sides of their mouth, and we just smile and nod and bend over and let them have their way with us.
Four years ago it was Barack Obama "spreadin' it deep and sellin' it cheap". "Hope and Change" was going to save us all. But how? No details? Nope, just the power of positive thinking. And enough of us voted for him to put his name on the mailbox at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. You may already be a Publisher's Clearing House winner. No purchase necessary.
Four years ago it was Barack Obama "spreadin' it deep and sellin' it cheap". "Hope and Change" was going to save us all. But how? No details? Nope, just the power of positive thinking. And enough of us voted for him to put his name on the mailbox at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. You may already be a Publisher's Clearing House winner. No purchase necessary.
We'll all be drinking that free Bubble-Up....
This year it's Mitt Romney. He tells us he's going to give us all a 20% tax cut, expand funding for our military, and somehow still balance the budget. Since when does 2+2=9? We're all going to have good jobs, freedom from government interference, and a bright future, too. How? Only he knows, and he's not sharing any details with us. Nope, we're just supposed to "trust him". And a sizable number of us will. Maybe enough to make him our next President.
Do you think if an entrepreneur had come to Mitt when he was the CEO of Bain Capital asking for money, with a business plan that simply said "We're gonna buy cheap, sell value, go for volume, and get rich", he would have put millions of dollars in this upstart venture? Absolutely not!
And eating that rainbow stew....
Has our educational system failed us so badly that we can no longer critically think? Has common sense gone the way of the dodo bird? Do we just hoover up everything Fox News or MSNBC tells us, questioning nothing?
I'm certainly not going to tell you how to vote, or how I voted. That's a personal decision. But please, know why you're voting for a particular candidate. We need meat and potatoes details in order to make smart choices. We're getting puffed pastry promises. In politics, nothing is what it seems.
I have no idea who will be running in 2016, but I can hear their campaign promises now...."Jobs for all, taxes for none, and a free puppy for everyone (while supplies last)."
I'm certainly not going to tell you how to vote, or how I voted. That's a personal decision. But please, know why you're voting for a particular candidate. We need meat and potatoes details in order to make smart choices. We're getting puffed pastry promises. In politics, nothing is what it seems.
I have no idea who will be running in 2016, but I can hear their campaign promises now...."Jobs for all, taxes for none, and a free puppy for everyone (while supplies last)."
S
I don't vote for Obama because of the economy. As we've seen, there's not much a president can do to the economy, especially with a Congress that has little interest in doing anything.
ReplyDeleteBut yeah it was great how Mitt's numbers went up after he just started making all sorts of crazy promises he can't possibly keep. Some people are really gullible.
I suppose we could adopt the British method of voting for the party instead of the person, with the leader of the party becoming president. But the British don't seem to be in any better shape than we are.
ReplyDeleteHow about a third or even fourth party? Campaigning would all be government funded, with no special interests allowed to buy airtime on behalf of one candidate or another. Maybe then actual ideas would come out and be articulated vs. the hot air we have now. Surely SOMEONE would have the cojones to present something real as they wouldn't have to cover for their benefactors. *Who knows?*
ReplyDeleteS
Unfortunately any campaign finance reform has to be enacted by the very people the current system benefits, so that ain't gonna change any time soon.
Deleteyou can thank Bush for the sorry state of our educational system with his 'no child left behind' crap that has had teachers teaching how to pass the test instead of actual needed skills in thinking. in fact the Republicans in Texas think that teaching critical thinking is the work of the devil. might make us question our parents and clergy. they actually said that. and Mitt's plan for ridding us of government interference? get rid of government. anarchy anyone?
ReplyDeleteI only voted "FOR" 2 presidents in the past 40 years. I grew up as a 60s anti-Vietnam war protester so I voted for McGovern in 72. Looking back I question "what was I thinking?" Then in 1980 I voted for Reagan. Since then I've voted for the least of the evils. Never really behind a candidate since then. I shake my head and wonder why either group can't seem to come up with an individual who can do the job. Once again, this year I will be voting the least of evils.
ReplyDeleteAs of 11 o'clock last night, Nick Silver projects Obama to win 296.6 Electoral College votes and gives him a 74.6% chance of winning the election.
ReplyDeleteI think we should adopt the method of the Miss America contest and be able to choose from as many contestants running for president.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you for being informed about who I'm voting for. I also agree that they will guarantee things that aren't going to happen. I'm planning to vote, haven't messed a presidential election since 1976 when I could start voting, so won't miss this one either. It will be nice to have the election over even if the one I vote for doesn't win
ReplyDeletebetty
maybe Obama would have been more successful if the financial crises (which started during the Bush admin) hadn't happened. NO ONE predicted it, it happened, and then try to follow up on promises made. And all the blame is put on Obama, though it should be on the whole congress!!
ReplyDeleteIn Germany the party is elected, not the president him/herself, and they often make a coalition with other parties in order to be in power since no party usually makes more then 50%.