Thoughts on the 2004 Election

 Originally Written on November 27th, 2004

Edited on December 6th, 2015

Edits Shown in [Brackets]

     There are several things that have come to my attention concerning the presidential election that have to be addressed.

      Some people seem to believe that people should not criticize the president and his policies, sometimes saying, “he’s our president and we have to support him.” That statement represents the fear of questioning authority and disagrees with the very first freedom guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. If that statement were true, then everyone in the country would have no choice but to agree with every move the current president makes, and always reelect him, effectively doing away with the democratic voting process.

      This year’s candidates spend too much time talking about their war records. Showing the country how the fact that they served[,] and how long and how hard they worked[,] may have some influence on how they plan to deal with the armed forces and our foreign policy, but using attack ads is not the best way to do it. These candidates should get to debating right away about as many important issues as they can[,] and not waste the American people’s time with one issue that has so little to do with the future.

      The polls are not reflecting the country’s change in politics because the youngest citizens eligible to vote are not voicing their opinions. The majority of the United States is more liberal than the polls show because younger citizens, who are more liberal than the previous generation, tend to be less interested and active in politics than their parents. If the voting rate were any lower than it is now at about 50% (of eligible voters), we could never be assured that the laws are representing the will of the majority, like they are designed to do.

      Candidates’ spending time with children is a distraction from the legitimate questions and concerns that educated registered voters need to have answered to make their decisions. Reading books to schoolchildren and kissing babies are nothing but photo opportunities that waste time[, and are done in order to gain] votes from weak-minded people who vote for the candidate with the more attractive personality. Nobody should cast his or her vote based on which party a group of grade-school students favor.

      It should have no bearing on an election whatsoever whether Teresa Heinz Kerry would make a better first lady than Laura Bush based on how they act in public or what they think about education. Polls printed in magazines and even shown on CNN ask people which First Lady they would prefer, as though either of them is up for election to a government position. The first lady does not have any official duties and it is preposterous that George W. Bush would say the best reason for his reelection is that his wife would be the first lady for four more years. Their wives’ political thoughts should matter in an election only if they run for public office themselves.