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David Spates Kickball leftovers for George W. Bush and Al Gore? These are the
best leaders our political system has to offer for the highest
office in the country? Someone wake me up when it's over. Now be honest. Do either one of these jokers
inspire you to ask yourself not what can your country do for
you but what you can do for your country? These guys don't even
inspire me to ask what they can do for the country. I wouldn't
follow either one of them into the last lifeboat. The problem is the majority of American citizens don't care whose rear end is placed in the Oval Office's biggest leather chair. For most of us, the only difference comes when Letterman, Leno, Miller or whoever makes his nightly political jokes and simply fills in the blank with the president's surname. People just don't feel that the role of president
plays a significant part in the way their lives progress. In
a society so narcissistic and self-involved as ours, it's no
surprise that neither of these two men can generate a significant
following among the masses. These days, people want to know what
can be done for them. What is Al going to do for me? How can
George make my life better? Very few of us consider what's best
for the country as a whole. Sad but true. It takes a leader of tremendous principle,
vigor, unwavering self-confidence, charisma and vision to motivate
people around a common goal. Do any one of those qualities describe
Albert or George? I know, I know - silly question. I think we'd all like to be more passionate
and interested in who is our nation's leader, but when presented
with the option of Gore vs. Bush it doesn't take a crystal ball
to realize that November's voter turnout likely will be as sparse
as multisyllabic words in a Britney Spears song. George and Al remind me of those dorky kids
who try to buy their way into friendships with daddy's money.
When you were 10, little Al and little George may have invited
you over to their houses to play the newest and coolest video
games. When you were 16, they'd offer the prettiest girls in
school a ride in their new cars fresh off the showroom floor.
When you were 20, they might have invited you to stop by their
dorm rooms for free beer and pizza. As the years go by, the promises
and lures get more and more extravagant. Sure the perks were
nice, but you soon realized they weren't worth suffering through
the company you had to keep. "You want it? You got it. Just remember
to vote for me in November." Maybe my problem is that I expect too much
from a president. I'd like to have someone at the helm who I
know can handle whatever comes up. I get the feeling that about
the only thing George and Albert can handle is their silver spoons
with which they came into this world. You'd like to think that
the most powerful position in the most powerful nation would
draw only the most remarkable people our land has produced. Instead,
the best and brightest go for the big corporate bucks, and We
the People are saddled with having to decide who would do the
least amount of harm. Quite a way to pick a leader, don't you think?
It's kind of like making the last kid who was picked for kickball
the team captain. Well, there are still a few months until the election. Maybe one of these fellows will break out of his weenie persona and show me a reason why I should pull the lever next to his name. I doubt it, but maybe. |