Why a Liberal 2008 President is Much Preferable to a Middle-of-the Road President

Liberl in the spirit of Howard Dean will spurn opposition among the religious. And look for some jingoistic, or anti-religious referendum on ballots to cause the religious right to turn out in numbers, again.

Alan,
A conservative Democrat is what will win. One who is conservative fiscally and moderate socially. One who recognizes that the war on terror is an advertising slogan for Rove Strategy. Someone who sees that outsourcing is weakening the middle class and making billionaires out of the already millionaires. One who believes in the constitution and has defended it on the field of battle. Not a paper tiger that we have now.
Someone with their feet on the ground not in the bible. Reality based and not wrapped up in fiction and glory and " I talk to God" propaganda like the one we have now that can't complete a sentence and gets all his knowledge from above. If he did he would be having answers to these problems not creating more problems. Right!

The most important thing is that the Democratic candidate speak with passion and be willing to draw sharp contrasts with the Republicans. A Republican-lite Democrat who is a pale version of a real Republican won't stand a chance.

a pale version of a real Republican won't stand a chance. I totally agree, Spike.

I just want an honest, intelligent, logical person.

I waited to see if a wise friend wanted to come in with his analogy. He doesn't, so I'll share it with you. He says if we were on a platform that weighted to crash in one direction, we wouldn't all run to the middle, we would send half to the other side for balance. Only he might have said it better than I just did.

What is needed is a person who can juggle both foreign and domestic issues with equal aplomb. This is not likely to happen -- ever. There simply is no such person.

Politics is all about powerbroking. The movement of economic power from one arena to another requires individuals with inside information, timely ability to act, and the courage to take the consequences. In all parties, the first two are available. In none will you find the last.

As Americans we are isolated from the world community geographically and culturally. We live in a highly technological society that provides instant gratification in nearly all venues. This imbues in us a sense of superiority unearned and undeserved. We believe we should be the conscience not only of the world, but of our fellow Americans.

Individually, each of us is intelligent enough to recognize certain immediate needs. Very few of us have the facilities to address those needs, and even fewer the wherewithal to acquire and exercise such facilities. To fill this vacuum of power, we elect representatives to proxy our interests in the larger arenas, people who can and do access those facilities.

There is no one individual politician who can affect change. It requires the weight of the entire system to shift policies, legislate and enforce law. To simply say that installing this or that individual will solve the problem is a bit naive.

Enlightened self-interest is what motivated the Founding Fathers of America. Enlightened self-interest is what is required to bring us back into line with reality in America. We are so propagandized on both sides, so ignorant of the actuality of world events, so isolated from the rest of humanity, that it will be difficult if not impossible to accomplish this without shutting it all down and starting over -- not an avenue I would recommend.

Education is a key, but not the state-sponsored and mandated education of the public schools. It is time we learned more than one language and listened to what the rest of the world is saying without the "benefit" of interpretation. It is time we listened to our elders, to benefit from their knowledge and experience, rather than pandering to the "youth oriented" society coveted, cultivated, and imposed on us by every venue of media today. It is time we took the responsibility for improving our country and our lives on our own backs rather than hoping someone else, who could just as easily throw us under the bus for the benefit of someone else, do so for us.

Get up, listen up, think, and get involved. That, not which party should be in power, is what is important.

I relinquish the floor.

In the old days, we could speculate on who might catch the public's attention, and then watch to see who might sail into the air on the strength of his or her timely opinions and ability to communicate them. In effect, that is what we appear to be beginning to do here.

But this is today. We aren't going to pick the next leader. Not by a long shot. Possibly it's already been done without our knowledge..... (yet).

No, today it takes big money, and money comes from those who hold it. They annoint the future leaders. If the money holders do their job right their selections will seem to be what is needed, what the public wants, what the public demands.

But beyond everything else, the future leaders will be protecting the interests of those who hold the money, those who made it possible for them to be the leaders in the first place.

We can speculate on liberal vs. conservative, Republican vs. Democrat, or whatever, but the fact is, the sickness in our society comes directly from the corrupt nature of our money based system, and we will never achieve the level of leadership we desire until this money is recognized as the cancer that it is, and it is cut out of the body politic completely and forever, restoring the true power to the people.

But yes, within the confines of this lousy system, what we need now is a resounding repudiation of the Republican Party and the Republican administration, and the greater the contrast between the new and the now, the greater the repudiation.

We need someone who is far enough left of center to make a big difference, and close enough to center to not draw the ire of the Independents and moderate Republicans. I would love to see a complete lefty win, but someone between Centrist and Lefty will probably have to do. I do see everyone's point and the weight analogy, but we have to remember that many of the right side of this country's citizens do not see the weight tipping, and those in the middle will run to the middle.

What a pessimistic bunch! I hope you are wrong, but you could well be right.