They All Suck: Why American Elections Are Crap, and Why I Voted for Obama Anyway
by Arjun Sharma
One of my main procrastination tools is CNN.com, a site I check at least 5 times a day to keep myself up to date on national issues and constantly remind myself of the world outside the walls of academia. As anyone not on drugs would know, the biggest issues of the past week have been the election, and the economy. Personally, I find the former as interesting as I find the latter uninteresting. The reason is simple - $2.75/gallon isn’t a huge difference from $3.25/gallon, and my IRA is completely in cash at the moment.
The election, on the other hand, has been delicious, albeit hare-brained, in the last few weeks. Sarah Palin continues her charge to become America’s Bimbo-in-Chief, a position that she’ll hold no matter what happens on November 4th. Note that I don’t use the word “bimbo” solely because she’s a woman - anyone whose foreign policy credentials include “seeing Russia,” and who claims that an answer at a rally, which was dictated clearly and concisely, does not actually reflect what she believes, qualifies for “bimbo.” Despite being the last of the candidates named in this election, Palin is running the strongest “Bimbo-in-Chief” campaign since Dan Quayle’s “Potatoe” campaign of 1992.
That’s not to say that Obama is off the hook either. The man needs to stand up and break the mold of spineless Democrats (John Kerry looked like they had used a broomstick as a replacement spine…) I guess it’s a part of the fundamental divide in this country - Obama is too much of an intellectual for the American people, and there’s something that makes us believe that smart people make bad leaders; call it the “Carlton syndrome.” What this means is that those of us who can eat food with a knife and fork and pronounce words over 2 syllables long have to watch incredulously while the candidates make arguments unfit for a student council election.
Much props go out to Colin Powell, not for his endorsement of Obama, but for his comments on the Muslim faith:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/RGT3lcPxkKQ&hl]
It’s a sentiment I’ve felt from the beginning, and I wish the media would have focused more on this idea; when people question whether Barack Obama (or as many like to state for “accuracy” purposes, Barack Hussein Obama) is a Muslim, the proper answer isn’t “No, he’s a Christian” but “Why does it make a difference?” We’re battling racism in this election, but I’m starting to think that religious differences are a more important problem in the United States today.
I guess the ultimate point I got out of this week was- “Fuck it.” I already voted absentee for Obama anyway, although deep down inside I wanted to fill in the bubble for “Bob Barr.” Any other election, I would have done it, but this election I think we need to guarantee the Republican Party is out of the big house, and a vote for Barack is the only true way to fight for that. Fundamentally, I’m a fiscal conservative and social liberal, so both parties kind of suck; but considering that the Republicans have strayed so far from their fiscally conservative ideals, the Democrats are a much better choice in 2008. So that’s that. Now can Sarah Palin PLEASE stop talking?
