The good news is that actually paying attention to the Democratic National Convention may have ended my strike on politics, so I can go back to school in September and be the good little over achieving government major and keep myself busy with OCD notes.
Additionally, it did its job: it made me more optimistic about Kerry, made me actually want to vote for Kerry, and made me think he could actually do some good.
The bad news is that it did it’s job: it made me more optimistic about Kerry, made me actually want to vote for Kerry, and made me think he could actually do some good. Even if Kerry wins, he’ll have a Republican Congress. I am far too cynical to honestly believe the dream of things actually changing. And even if things did change, what effect does it have on my life as an individual? What effect does it have on my decisions? Very little, if any. Society is made of individuals making decisions. It isn’t shaped by the politicians in Washington. Thank God for that.
Never mind that though, as requested by Adam, some thoughts on the DNC, since the original purpose of this LJ was supposed to be politically focused anyway
Al Gore: Aw, counting and recounting sheep! “I’m not bitter or anything…” Poor, boring, Al Gore
John Edwards: He is so cute! And optimistic! He is Clinton 2.0. I am thinking that if (when?) John Kerry loses, he is the next president.
Cate Edwards: Chelsea 2.0
Other Edwards kids: “The cutest thing since JFK was in the White House”-TM Josh
Bill Clinton.
OhmyGod.
Now, I’m a rational woman, but there is something about this guy that just makes me swoon. Was Clinton a perfect president, or further, a perfect person? Hell no. Did he screw up? Yes
Would I vote for him for President if given the chance? HELL YES!
I was in fourth grade when Clinton ran for President, but I remember very, very vividly, watching him give a speech the night before election day, telling the voters in his way of talking that makes you feel he’s speaking directly to you how he wanted to be the President. I’ve been hooked ever since.
I don’t know how much of Bill C’s vibe is genuine or how much of it is just polish/PR, but it works, oh God it works. He inspires a sense of trust; he may not actually believe a thing that he says, but he will bite his lower lip and give you that look that says he feels your pain, and he gets results. Good or bad, it is really such a huge part of politics.
The problem with Bush is that doesn’t give a shit, or at least that is the impression that he gives off, and it reeks of arrogance. Seeing Clinton speak made me realize just how incredibly poor Dubya is as a speaker. He might have great speechwriters (he doesn’t) but it won’t matter because he doesn’t seem to understand simple concepts and words, and he mugs pathetically every time he gets a little applause,
Clinton literally left me speechless. All I could do was giggle like a school girl and IM my friends to tell them that Bill C is still a hero. I love this guy. Was our punishment for having this wonderful man in office the loser that currently resides in stolen office? He looked fantastic, he sounded fantastic, and he had me hanging on his every word. And to get me, my black, jaded, “I’m so sick of politics, I don’t even visit cnn.com anymore” heart to suddenly fill me with optimism, hope, and just general good feelings, I’m starting to wonder if he’s hypnotizing me. I had a huge grin on my face by the end of it.
Clinton ripped into Bush without going completely negative. I love it that he remarked how HE, Bush, and Cheney dodged going to Vietnam; that he can acknowledge he made a decision that many would view as wrong. I like that he acknowledged that the Bush tax cut benefited him, but knew it didn’t help a vast sector of the population.
Clinton, I think, when history fairly judges him, will be associated with the prosporous 90s. Now, many of this may be a case of “right place right time,” but the same could certainly be said of Reagan, the hero of the Republicans. Reagan is praised for reducing the size of the government, and ending the Cold War, except, he didn’t win the Cold War. He had the luck of being a contemporary of Gorbachev. Besides, it’s not like Russian communism was chugging along just fine all those years; it was a system that was bound to self-destruct, and while Reagan certainly had an inspiring rhetoric and his policies were certainly a catalyst, but he was no more responsible for the end of the Cold War then Kennedy, Johnson, Carter, or Ford. I do think that it is a sign of Reagan’s success that the world’s most popular Democrat (and believe me, Clinton is beloved throughout Europe. People love this man.) may try to build his legacy on tax cuts, deficit reduction, and law and order. Both Clinton and Reagan led the country out of a recession, and gave us a sense of hope and purpose with an optimistic (and clearly articulated) vision of America. I think in both cases, it was the man’s vision more so than concrete accomplishments that give people the warm fuzzies
Clinton’s job was to be president, and he did that well. And his line “Congress was kinda mean to me!” So cute, oh so cute.
Electrifying. Why, oh why, can’t this man be president again?
Hillary, although she does not deserve to use “New York State of Mind” as her theme music evereverever, was quite good; I caught a glimpse of the ‘scary’ Hillary. That woman is tough, very, very tough, and her eyes were blazing, her voice was steely hard. I wouldn’t want to cross her.
Kerry
One of the criticisms of Kerry that I just can’t buy is the “Flip flopping’ one. I think it was Coleman (Minnesota Senator) who commented something about wisdom being having a vision and being consistent, and Senator Kerry had several different positions on his vote on the 87 billion dollars for Iraq.
That’s bullshit. Wisdom is being able to adapt and change plans if things don’t work out. I’d much rather have a leader who was able to change, back out, or admit a mistake in light of new evidence then a ‘leader’ who stubbornly pushes on well after it’s clear he’s fucked up. I’m certainly not idealistic enough tot hink that, once in office, Kerry will be a great guy, whose always willing to take the fault for his screw-ups. But I don’t think it’s inconsistent with wisdom to change your position on an issue when presented with new facts. Hell, that’s just life.
Kerry impressed me, perhaps because my expectations were so low. He showed an energy I hadn’t seen, and once again, (here’s that word again) he made me feel hope that he might have a chance in November. My first reaction is please for the love of all that is sacred, let us have a chance. As Al Gore said, ‘Let’s make sure the Supreme Court does not choose this President, and let’s make sure this President does not choose the Supreme Court.” Granted, justices appointed by conservative presidents have offered very ‘liberal’ opinions to the court (Roe v Wade, for example). But the thought of adding a bunch of pro-life, anti-gay marriage, Bible-thumping conservatives to the Court nauseates me. If nothing else, the thought that Bush wouldn’t be making any of these appointments is enough to make me vote for Kerry.
But then again, I come back to this fact: Kerry being elected won’t change anything. In the end, all this political nonsense is pretty unimportant. My ‘strike’ from politics this semester really made me realize how inconsequential this all is. Call me jaded. Call me an evil right winger (cause that’s what I am, and I club baby seals, and I have ‘the conscience of a conservative’ Barry Goldwater style.
Kerry’s doing a better job on this campaign that I would have expected. So, points for him, or smtg.
But beyond all this;
If Bush wins the election (which I still think he will), the worst thing he can do it interpret that as validation for what’s happened this year. I wonder if his administration can sense the mandate for change that’s swelling among the voters, even if that feeling isn’t strong enough to unseat the incumbent (though I think the election will be closer than I would’ve predicted 4 years ago, or immediately post-September 11). I’m a cynic. I’m a jaded, former liberal government major. I still strongly agree with this statement:
“Here’s the thing about politics: IT’S NOT AN EXPRESSION OF YOUR MORAL PURITY AND YOUR ETHICS AND YOUR PROBITY AND YOUR FOND DREAMS OF SOME UTOPIAN FUTURE. Progressive people constantly fail to get this … The system isn’t about ideals. The country doesn’t elect great leaders. It elects fucked-up people who for reasons of ego want to run the world”
But I still think there’s an undercurrent of a call for change. It’s there. And it’s real. And if Bush cares one bit about this country he needs to heed it.
I don’t know. I don’t have much faith in politics. I don’t feel like I need too. But the next few months leading up to November will, hopefully be pretty informative and intriguing.
