Having sat through two of the three planned Presidential Debates, I'm not sure I have the strength to watch the third, which airs (I'm told) tomorrow night (Monday, 22 October).
It's not just that they are boring (they are), that they don't cover any topics we really need to know about (they don't). No, what really disappoints is they showcase how little we have to look forward to in the next four years.
If Romney wins, we'll have a President who's better qualified to be Lobbyist-in-Chief than Commander-in-Chief; and he will come to office beholden to the most conservative factions in the Republican party, no matter what he might try to sell us in the debates. And he'll have Karl Rove and his Bushnik Brigade right behind him; in the shadows behind the curtain maybe, but right there nonetheless, whispering in his ear.
If Obama wins, we'll have a President who won't have any more success breaking the Congressional deadlock than he's already had; less perhaps, since he'll be a Lame Duck (can you have less than none?). Those Republican Congressional Leaders who said they would work to make him a one-term President, won't have a change of heart just because they missed that goal.
Most distressing perhaps, is that neither man has told us any more during the debates than what's in their campaign materials, and neither has inspired much hope for a better future. Just words that sound like promises but are nothing more than crafted soundbites.
I've no doubt the correct choice is to stick with Obama; but it's no longer a passionate choice for change, rather it's a concession that staying the course with the current somewhat navigationally-challenged Captain is better than handing the wheel over to a seasick landlubber being remote-controlled from shore.
It's not just that they are boring (they are), that they don't cover any topics we really need to know about (they don't). No, what really disappoints is they showcase how little we have to look forward to in the next four years.
If Romney wins, we'll have a President who's better qualified to be Lobbyist-in-Chief than Commander-in-Chief; and he will come to office beholden to the most conservative factions in the Republican party, no matter what he might try to sell us in the debates. And he'll have Karl Rove and his Bushnik Brigade right behind him; in the shadows behind the curtain maybe, but right there nonetheless, whispering in his ear.
If Obama wins, we'll have a President who won't have any more success breaking the Congressional deadlock than he's already had; less perhaps, since he'll be a Lame Duck (can you have less than none?). Those Republican Congressional Leaders who said they would work to make him a one-term President, won't have a change of heart just because they missed that goal.
Most distressing perhaps, is that neither man has told us any more during the debates than what's in their campaign materials, and neither has inspired much hope for a better future. Just words that sound like promises but are nothing more than crafted soundbites.
I've no doubt the correct choice is to stick with Obama; but it's no longer a passionate choice for change, rather it's a concession that staying the course with the current somewhat navigationally-challenged Captain is better than handing the wheel over to a seasick landlubber being remote-controlled from shore.
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