I just gave up on the Biden-Palin debate. Or should that be Palin-Biden?
I tried to watch it. In fact, I wanted to watch it. I lasted about 20 minutes. I couldn’t take anymore.
“My plan cuts taxes, and your plan raises taxes.”
“No, my plan cuts taxes; it’s yours that raises taxes.”
Enough already. What kind of idiots do these people think we are? And why do we have to have all these plans, anyway? None of them are simple enough for the average voter to understand. They’re all big and complex and just add more layers to an already bloated and corrupt system.
Here’s an idea: talk about your principles. Talk about what drives you. Talk about the relationship you think government should have with the average citizen. Talk about the roles the federal government should–or shouldn’t–play.
I would much rather vote for a candidate who told me, “This is how I believe government should operate, and this is what it should/shouldn’t do, and those are the principles that will guide my decisions.” Telling me that you’ve got a different plan to fix every purported ill of society just makes me suspicious. Besides, Presidents don’t actually pass legislation. They only get to sign it once it’s passed by Congress. And at that point, Congress will have had their way with the bill–it won’t be anything like the one the President asked for in the first place. Ugh.
Someone needs to remind McCain and Palin, Obama and Biden, and their respective parties, of the reason we have two different parties in the USA. It’s not so they can propose competing plans that all claim to do the same thing. It’s because they represent certain fundamental principles and assumptions about government, and those principles are opposed to each other. They’re not the same. That’s why we have this adversarial system.
Get up there at the podium, turn off the teleprompter, and speak to me about your perspective on government. Tell my why you believe government should act the way you think it should. Tell me why that’s better than your opponent’s perspective. Stop treating me–and your opponents–like idiots. Stop quoting me statistics and facts. Inspire me with your principles. Then, maybe, I and the rest of the nation will finally be motivated to vote. And we’ll be voting for you because of who you are and what you stand for–not because you had the best attack ad or played politics better than the other guy.
Ben Martin, who is increasingly convinced that his party is walking away from him, is Editor-In-Chief of THE FATHER LIFE. He lives with his wife and four children in the Rochester, NY, area.
Ben Martin is the CEO of THE FATHER LIFE. He lives with his wife and five children in the Rochester, NY, area.
I like Palin because of her glasses. That’s grounds to vote on , right? (Just kidding…) -B