Comments on Posts
I find people's reasons for supporting and opposing particular candidates almost as interesting as the candidates themselves, and sometimes another person's post does make me think about a candidate differently.
In that vein, I found Jan McElroy's post on 12/22 particularly interesting. She cited a NY Times news report that Senator Obama voted "present," vice "aye" or "nay," 130 times when he was in the Illinois legislature. That sounded bad to me, even though it was only 130 votes of a total of 4,000 cast. So I read the article, wondering if this guy really isn't the leader he claims to be. I didn't reach a clear conclusion from the article, but finished with the thought that his (or his campaign's) explanation of his non-votes did in fact demonstrate leadership, as he was clearly trying to make a statement, or accomplish some objective of his party's leadership, in many of the votes. By voting differently, you sometimes get a chance to explain yourself, which provides the opportunity to make a point that would be lost in a simple aye or nay vote. If Obama's leadership is an issue to you, check the citation in Jan's post and read the article at www.nytimes.com.
I was also interested in Carol Weyler's laudatory post about Guiliani. Even though I'm not going to vote for a Republican in the general election, I have liked listening to Guiliani, and he makes a lot of sense to me on some issues. He may not have been a perfect mayor, but it seems clear he has some good and important accomplishments to his credit. But unlike Carol, I'm really bothered by his personal ethics. Anyone intending to divorce his or her spouse who chooses to use a news conference as a way to communicate the message doesn't even understand good manners. And he wants to host a state dinner! And to move your mistress into the governor's mansion while you're still married, give me a break. It's one thing if our sports and entertainment idols don't always live up to our highest standards, but I think a president should set the highest standard for ethical behavior. Guiliani doesn't make the cut in my book.
On that score, I thought Bill Clinton should have resigned after the Lewinski affair broke, as I thought he sullied the Office of The President. I wrote letters urging his resignation. Think what would have happened had Clinton resigned.
1) Al Gore would have become president.
2) Al Gore would almost certainly have defeated "W" in the 2000 election.
3) NO WAR IN IRAQ!
Everything is interconnected. The butterfly in India is initiating the next hurricane in Bermuda! Our upcoming votes will change the world, the only question is, in what ways?
