Corenon Soliare Udoo Mahook!

I've recently been persuaded that President Bush is not as evil as I once thought he was. In fact, I'm not even convinced that he's as stupid as I previously thought (which still isn't saying much). Rather, I believe that he is just horribly misguided. His world-view of only hearing and saying good news, loyalty above all, and never admitting mistakes may make him feel better, but it's a lousy way to run a presidency.

For example, President Cheney repeatedly said that he believed that we would be greeted as liberators in Iraq. I will concede that this is probably true - there were probably many people in Iraq who wfere happy to see us topple Hussein's brutal government. But we were not welcomed by everyone (Ba'ath Loyalists) and once we ousted Hussein, we should have known that a bitter fight for power would ensue. Because of the speed with which the country has descended into chaos and our seeming inability to cope with it, I find it unlikely President Bush or his advisors seriously considered the opinions of anyone who predicted that this would happen.

It seems to me that he does believe that if we can build a stable democracy in Iraq that it will serve as a catalyst in the region, prompting other countries to follow suit. My response was put best by Aasif Mandvi of the Daily Show, "We are grateful for the opportunity to test out the latest theories from your political scientists."

“That’s it. You people have stood in my way long enough. I’m going to clown college.”

One day, I was flipping through a magazine and I saw the most effective advertisement I’ve ever seen. The ad was a picture of an overturned cookie jar with Mini Milanos spilling out onto a table.

When I saw the ad, I thought, “Man, I really want a Mini Milano.” Then I thought, “Man, I really want a cookie jar.”

“The politics of failure have failed. We need to make them work again.”

The upcoming election has put into stark relief an important issue: how do you pick a representative that best represents your interests? There are innumerable criteria that may be used in picking a candidate, but I would like to identify a few that seem to be particularly relevant to this election.

Seniority. One of the arguments that Senator Orrin Hatch from Utah is making as to why he should be reelected is that he is a senior member of congress and will soon be the ranking member or chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. He argues that this makes him a better voice for Utah. I disagree.

First, he is no longer accountable to Utah voters. His overwhelming popularity and financial backing shield him from voter accountability. He can take for granted that he will win every election in which he runs. Since he doesn’t have to worry about winning support, he is basically free to follow whatever agenda he wants without fear of repercussion. This frees him up to follow only the interests of his donors and other special interests, rather than those of his constituents. To wit, he has accepted money from Tobacco companies; he voted to repeal the death tax (which affects only a small fraction of Utahns, but provides important revenue; and has accepted a vast majority of his contributions from out-of-state donors. (Links are to The Center for Responsive Politics.)

Second, divided government is key to the success of American democracy. Ours is a system of checks and balances where the power of the state is checked by pitting it at war with itself. Unfortunately, political parties have provided a way of muting that benefit. (Please understand, I am not arguing that political parties are inherently bad – in fact, I feel quite the opposite. This is just an unfortunate side effect.) When the same party controls different branches of government, the incentive to oppose acts of the other branches is largely removed. So, when Democrats control the White House and Congress, they are more likely to cede power between them than they would be when the two branches are controlled by different parties. We have seen this since 2001, as Congress has continued to cede more and more power to the Executive without retaining substantive oversight power. Senator Hatch has been a strong voice in favor of these concessions. Therefore, the interests of Utahns might be better served by electing a Democrat and turning the reigns of Congress over to a different party.

I do not mean to state that only Orrin Hatch should not be re-elected, but I mean to say that Utahns might not want to send ANY Republicans back to Washington this election.

The Great Equalizer

The advent of the internet has changed the very way our world works. It has made available a vast wealth of knowledge to anyone who can find a computer with a phone line. Cisco CEO John Chambers called it, "the great equalizer." Presumably, he meant that communication through the internet puts everyone on an equal plane. Giant multinational corporations, world superpower governments, and crackpot individuals can all put their web pages side by side on a virtual stage. This new borderless democracy has attracted many citizens who are best described by something Homer Simpson said: "These are the people who saw an overcrowded marketplace and cried, 'Me too!'"

Now that I have a chance to have my voice greatly equalized, I cry, "Me too!"