I don't think a presidency built solely on change can accomplish very much. Our current governor ran on a platform very similar to the winner of the Iowa Democratic Caucus. This governor's political inexperience and missteps have overshadowed what little change he has made. I have to believe that the person who will succeed in actually changing this country is one who makes change from inside the establishment, with smart and savvy operatives who know how cutthroat political life is and who are able to make wise and calculated decisions.
Change just for change's sake is total vanity and promising change simply to differentiate oneself from other candidates is disingenuous. Everyone wants to make things better. Everyone wants to - or will eventually be forced to - reach across the aisle and compromise. The issue is, which candidate will command respect, has the experience to know what needs to be changed (and what doesn't), and the wisdom to know what can actually be changed?
I look forward to finding out in
Update: I edited the last sentence because certain people (from whom one can't hide anything!) are reading into things. No, we are not having babies anytime soon!!
4 comments:
This is a really interesting topic. I could write a ton more, but don't wan to clog up your space here. :)
I agree with you about your assesment of change, but unfortunately I think that "change" in this campaign is simply a tool to stir up negative passion directed at our current President. I don't know about you, but I have yet to hear the type of solid, concrete ideas and stances that would persuade me to vote for someone. In fact, the number of candidates coupled with how little substance I've seen is pretty troubling.
"i look forward to ... the next nine months"
wow that can be taken sooooo out of context!
Ha ha--that's funny, Simon!
Good points, Pauline. Absent "change" as a major factor in voting for president, I would probably vote on the basis of executive-level experience; coherent political philosophy; and core principles (which goes together with the former--not necessarily in that order of importance.
Oh, and let us know how things end up 9 months from now.
haha, nine months... gotta give it to simon to take things out of context. ;)
yes, i've pondered this very question myself, and i vacillate between the candidates multiple times on a given day. but call me naive, i feel like if enough people make enough of a stand to seek change, even the established washington will have to listen and change. no? i guess it will be a question whether this change agent would end up being another fdr or jfk, or will he be carter (domestic)... it's so hard to tell.
but i'm thankful to hear about your thoughts on patrick and how he's been doing there in ma. i will definitely keep that in mind. need to be much more thoughtful and prayerful.
i miss hearing your views and thoughts on such things. :) hope you're enjoying your vacation and time away from classes. ((hugs))
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