1 post from February 2008

Politics or Leadership?  That's what it boils down to, this race.  The race for the nomination and the one to come for the presidency.

I've lived my entire voting life with only the choice of politicians to vote for, because I didn't vote for Reagan.  I voted for the politician instead and while I would do it again today (given the same choice) I'm praying that I won't have to.

That is what the Democratic Party machine isn't fully grasping here.  For the first time since Robert Kennedy's campaign they have a candidate that leads and speaks to peoples' hearts and not a career politician that has accrued power and favours.  LBJ was a politician of the highest order and yes, he could work that machine like a mutha and signed off on some serious shit but you know, he also signed off on some serious shit.  Vietnam War, everyone.  I know he didn't get us into it but you know he kept our country in it, against our will and behind our backs.  That's politics, people.  I think he was a smart man that became an incredibly smart politician and we can only surmise what would have happened if he hadn't been the Vice President to a Leader.

I want some leadership.  The politics of the last twenty years has made so many of us a cynical and fearful bunch of voters who only care about keeping ours safe from the have nots and hating the haves, even if all they have is something different than us.  That's some kind of sad, right there.  We keep getting pitted against one another and another Republican is just going to be about more of the same.

The voters know it and the frustration has led to things like term limits because we know that the system needs to change.  The thing is, it's not going to change by changing the rules that politicians play by.  It changes by changing the politicians themselves. 

Hillary is an excellent politician and she deserves more than just credit for learning and playing the rules to her advantage.  She would make an excellent career politician if she were given the room and a chance to work at keeping the Republicans in check.  She's just not a leader, is all.

*I wandered across this today and think it's one of the most interesting things I've read on just how Obama's campaign has changed politics, forever really.  http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/2/14/182615/431#readmore  It's titled "Process vs Policy:  Organising"