An 'outsider's' observations.
The object of democratic elections is to vote a political party into office based on their policies for running a country for the benefit of the citizens of that country, aka "The Voters".
As I understand the situation, and this is only based on conversations with many of my American friends (plus a few 'enemies!), some 50% of the population were not motivated to vote at the last elections, 25% voted for the Republicans and 25% for the Democrats, the outcome being a dubious result by a slim margin to the present incumbent.
Those who did not bother to vote have nothing to bitch about as they gave up that right by not voting.
The 'Cult of Personality' is a disturbing one in a supposedly democratic country, very much so when it comes down to choosing a government based on (IMHO) a 'leader' who has had a personality bypass!
One does not need to be a rocket scientist to understand the words spoken by Mr Bush are not his own, rather those of all the vested interests who financed his 'election' and now write the scripts.
Food for thought, Mr Bush Senior was a serving officer who saw combat in WW2, one of the most able Directors of the CIA (my own opinion again) in a period when that organization had been devalued, and was removed from that position due to a political appointment as a result of a change in government, obviously merit and experience count less than 'Jobs for the boys'.
Mr Bush Junior has no experience in any field of endeavor, (politics don't count btw) has had a privileged life, but appears to be an expert on what is 'right for the world' and is prepared to ship of his Countrymen and Women to fight in a sphere which has one thing going for it, oil, oil and more oil.
The office he holds is 'President of the United States', NOT 'President of the World' ...... Hussein is the leader of a sovereign nation, right or wrong, has done nothing 'wrong' that has been proved beyond reasonable doubt, and if Mr Bush and his administration proceed without UN sanction against Iraq, well, who is the aggressor?
More to the point, the overused and misunderstood title of 'War Criminal' might end up at the White House.
No argument, Hussein is an evil bastard, however, he is the Middle Eastern nations "own" evil bastard.
The speech given by Mr Bush was not a bad one, taken as a 'speech' in a literary manner, despite the obvious holes in policy.
Of course, some unknown group of writers are behind it, along with who knows how many lobbyists and policy makers.
How the pre-election promises are to bet met remains a mystery, as does the funding of the 'War against Terrorism', the last being one of the great oxymoron's of the present day.
Rampant inflation is a probable result, as usual, it will hit the average citizen and the poor sods who live on or below the poverty line ...... but not the "Bush Family and Close Circle of Friends" (gross cynicism!) or those on comfortable incomes.
As is the way of the World, us dumb Australians will stand alongside our US Allies because that is what Allies do.
Before the usual rabble stomp on me, I have lived and worked in the US, if one can use that term regarding military exchange duty.
I have a great admiration for the people I know on a personal level and I do respect the level of patriotism shown by the average citizen (albeit a bit over the top from time to time) of the United States.
Sadly, politicians manipulate that patriotism for their own (often) shady ends.
I don't 'like' Mr Bush on a superficial level but then again, I don't know the man, in a similar vein, Mr Gore was not impressive but the same caveat applies, it's a surface evaluation.
To me, the Clintons appeared to be good for America, and to an outsider, the pair had that indefinable quality known as charisma, but ..... "outsider" is the operative word.
My last remark is one made by a friend in Texas (not you Lloyd, relax!) who commented that Mr Bush was known as 'The Shrub' by many in his home state, too immature to be a 'Bush'......
However, the answer to the present crisis is not with the 'Hawks' or the 'Doves', it lies midway between these factions.
As always, the loudest voices in favour of 'War' are those who get to sit at home and devour CNN .... as one who has been there, I must say it is NOT a video game and NOT intended as 'Entertainment'!
I'll get out of the way now, before the buckets are tipped!
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What the heck is his problem? 