You got your poll yesterday
I'm disappointed that the only candidates I voted for who won were incumbents - I don't even have to check the actual results to know this - but I'm psyched there won't be any more political ads for at least a month or two. I haven't felt this disinterested in an election since folks were voting for W. Clinton, probably because I was out of pocket when Romney ascended to the candidacy.
The thing that most upsets me about this election is that I think Romney is the latest in a string of Republican candidates who stumbled through the campaign. While Hurricane Sandy left a bad taste in my mouth when it comes to RINO-professional managers, I think Romney was the most appealing Republican to get the nomination in a while. I believe most Americans in 2012 want a government that is fiscally responsible, well-run, and they don't really care as much about the religion of the president or particular social policies, as long as they aren't too far out there. A Republican from a liberal state who used to run a large company should've been a no-brainer and yet. In 2008, the zeitgeist was clearly against McCain and for Obama - as interesting as "maverick" was to all the Americans who were tired of political fighting, the second half of his campaign showed that he had no idea what was important. In 2012, the zeitgeist was clearly for Romney - and he still lost.
To me, this suggests that the Republicans suck at managing campaigns. Romney's core message - a responsible government - should've been easy to sell and Obama has enough scandals - Solyndra, Operation Fast & Furious, Benghazi - that he could have easily hammered the mismanagement (at best) of the current administration. And yet. For a party whose big tent includes business leaders, why don't they have better management and better marketing? As my friend the hipster paratrooper says, I want my government conspiracy to be competent.
I recognize that I'm giving Romney the benefit of the doubt that I'm not giving the sitting president, that I'm judging him based on what I believe he thinks rather than what he says. I think I'm a fairly-minded person and I've been racking my brain trying to figure out how Obama and I could agree on stuff and I just can't. I think Obama and his friends have a completely different worldview. It seems unlikely to me that he actually hates America or wants to bring down democracy, no matter what my frothing relative may mutter. I think he thinks America would be better if it were more like Europe, if government made all the decisions and insured everything in its citizens lives, a thought which makes me throw up in my mouth. I don't understand why my truly liberal friends think this is okay, when they'd be horrified by a similarly powerful government run by, say, the guy most people voted for in 2004. I also don't believe our current president is a particularly noble-minded person, after listening to that State of the Union from whatever year it was, that one the justices attended and he was totally rude about. Say what you will about the Bushes, but you never heard about them removing government property or getting sinecures.
The other thing I don't get is, who do the Dems think they will nominate in 4 years? I wonder if even Joe Biden thinks he's a viable next candidate for president. Obama needed Biden's steady track record when he was a candidate who'd spent more time in the state senate than the big leagues, but at this point he's just assassin-insurance. Oh well, maybe in 4 years we can find, among the 300 million people in this country, 2 who don't suck.
The thing that most upsets me about this election is that I think Romney is the latest in a string of Republican candidates who stumbled through the campaign. While Hurricane Sandy left a bad taste in my mouth when it comes to RINO-professional managers, I think Romney was the most appealing Republican to get the nomination in a while. I believe most Americans in 2012 want a government that is fiscally responsible, well-run, and they don't really care as much about the religion of the president or particular social policies, as long as they aren't too far out there. A Republican from a liberal state who used to run a large company should've been a no-brainer and yet. In 2008, the zeitgeist was clearly against McCain and for Obama - as interesting as "maverick" was to all the Americans who were tired of political fighting, the second half of his campaign showed that he had no idea what was important. In 2012, the zeitgeist was clearly for Romney - and he still lost.
To me, this suggests that the Republicans suck at managing campaigns. Romney's core message - a responsible government - should've been easy to sell and Obama has enough scandals - Solyndra, Operation Fast & Furious, Benghazi - that he could have easily hammered the mismanagement (at best) of the current administration. And yet. For a party whose big tent includes business leaders, why don't they have better management and better marketing? As my friend the hipster paratrooper says, I want my government conspiracy to be competent.
I recognize that I'm giving Romney the benefit of the doubt that I'm not giving the sitting president, that I'm judging him based on what I believe he thinks rather than what he says. I think I'm a fairly-minded person and I've been racking my brain trying to figure out how Obama and I could agree on stuff and I just can't. I think Obama and his friends have a completely different worldview. It seems unlikely to me that he actually hates America or wants to bring down democracy, no matter what my frothing relative may mutter. I think he thinks America would be better if it were more like Europe, if government made all the decisions and insured everything in its citizens lives, a thought which makes me throw up in my mouth. I don't understand why my truly liberal friends think this is okay, when they'd be horrified by a similarly powerful government run by, say, the guy most people voted for in 2004. I also don't believe our current president is a particularly noble-minded person, after listening to that State of the Union from whatever year it was, that one the justices attended and he was totally rude about. Say what you will about the Bushes, but you never heard about them removing government property or getting sinecures.
The other thing I don't get is, who do the Dems think they will nominate in 4 years? I wonder if even Joe Biden thinks he's a viable next candidate for president. Obama needed Biden's steady track record when he was a candidate who'd spent more time in the state senate than the big leagues, but at this point he's just assassin-insurance. Oh well, maybe in 4 years we can find, among the 300 million people in this country, 2 who don't suck.