Initial thoughts post-election

Unfortunately I was not surprised that Dubya won. I didn't want him to win, but one person's wants do not an election make.

I hate this talk about the "political capital" that he "earned" with this election. What the hell is that supposed to mean? I saw an editorial cartoon that expressed it well: two soldiers low running in a fire fight, one asks the other what political capital is, the other replies "That's us."

Yes, Dubya won with the most votes cast for him than any other president in history. But he also had the most votes cast against him than any other president in history.


Four years ago I didn't really care for either candidate. I did not care for Gore largely because of his wife. For those whose memory doesn't go back that far, she is the one to thank for advisory stickers on music that contains profanity. I didn't think that I would care for what would happen socially should Gore be Prez. But Dubya, on the other hand, IMO (which has been born out over the past four years) was pre-sold to special interests. Just take a look at the background of the people running the EPA among other things. Or the fact that Kenneth Lay had a private office in the White House. Or that Karl Rove, who is not an elected or appointed official, can dictate policy. Or Dick Cheney’s ties to Haliburton. Oh, sorry, he’s no longer connected with Haliburton. RIIIIGHT. Did you know that Haliburton has operations in Iran? Oh, sorry, my mistake: that’s a foreign independent part of Haliburton that has operations in Iran.

If you want some interesting info about Rove, take a look at his Wikipedia entry at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Rove.

We could talk about Dubya’s military record, but there’s little point to that, just as there was little point to his military career except to keep him out of Vietnam. I love the concept of “you don’t change horses mid-war” (I prefer the more accurate “You don’t change horses mid-apocalypse”) when the bastards running the military have never served. With the notable exception of John McCain and Bob Dole and a handful of others (like Prez Bush I), most of these Republican yahoos got deferments. So did most of the Elephant political pundits and commentators. Then look at the side of the Donkeys. It looks like just about every Democrat in Congress served in World War II, Korea, or Vietnam. SO WHY ARE WE LETTING PEOPLE WHO HAVE NEVER BEEN TO WAR RUN THE WAR? Look it up, there’s plenty of references, I don’t feel like posting a link.

It just sickens me.

But one thing in particular makes me firmly believe that George Bush should not be president – he does not read. There is a quote in the entryway to the Phoenix Public Library Burton Barr Branch, and this is somewhat mangled: “Those who do not read hold no advantage over those who cannot read.” A man who does not read is too easily swayed by persuasive people particularly since he does not have hard facts in print in front of him. Yes, those facts can be colored, but when several sources are reporting roughly the same thing, you can generally have confidence that they are pretty accurate.

And compounding this, Dubya has eliminated people from advisory positions that do not agree with him. How can you make rational decisions about the world if you don’t have multiple sources of information?


People say that the way he talks is “homey”, I think he’s an undereducated hick being controlled by those around him. I have known smart, educated hicks with southern drawls so thick you could cut them with a knife and spread them on cornbread. Dubya is not one counted amongst their numbers.

There was a nice little sketch on Prairie Home Companion a few weeks ago. Dubya is talking to his psychiatrist, mentions that he’s having troubling dreams. His doctor asks him if it’s the one where he shows up for a final and he hasn’t attended class. Dubya replies “No, that was real.” Yes, both Dubya and Kerry went to college, the difference was that Kerry passed his classes.


I'm not saying that Gore would have done a better job on 9/11, and I'm not saying Kerry would do a better job on the war on "terror". But I will say that I have not been impressed by Dubya's performance on either.


In closing, I'll copy part of an email that Russet received from her brother:

The people have spoken. They want more war, fewer jobs, corporate control of every aspect of their lives, more religion in government, less personal freedom, an end to legal abortion, military conscription, no gay faggot homosexuals getting married, no taxes for rich people, no health care for working people, privatization of Social Security, a bigger deficit, the rich getting richer.

May God bless America. It's going to take all he's got and then some.


Oh, and as one final shot, apparently more than one incoming senators thinks that abortion should be a capital crime.

And these are the people that were voted into office. I wonder what our country will look like in four years, and I don’t look forward to it.


I might have another rant brewing, we'll wait and see if it will ever see the light of day. The above conveys my initial disappointment.