The silly season is over. Party primaries are in dead-heat mode and there's no time for quibbling over who loves Martin Luther King the most or whether Ronald Reagan was the best thing which happened since Abraham Lincoln.
In short, it's time for all candidates to run on their records. And it's time for them to stop leaning on those past presidents whom they'd like to build monuments to. So, let's do some issues! In these times, this is no easy feat. However, not having to discuss black/white and all colors in the spectrum releases time for voters.
Voters need to know such things as how they can pay for gas, whether employers will cut jobs, what chance there is to keep healthcare insurance, and more. And of course, when are we going to get out of Iraq?
On Saturday, January 26, while waiting for the polls to close on the Democratic primary in South Carolina, I watched a rerun of the previous day's speech by Bill Clinton. He gave a full rundown of Hillary's proposals, and it was nostalgic to see her husband making a speech in that effortless way he's famous for. As most everyone knew, she and Barack Obama had locked horns in a personal way. I thought it a little unseemly, but who am I to tell a couple of Senators how to talk? Since newspapers dubbed Bill Clinton the first black president, I guess he got the job of telling some young people about what Hillary would do as president.
By now we know Obama got some of the white vote and Hillary and Edwards split the rest about evenly. Obama carried the state, however, and that's what counts in Denver next summer. I had this feeling that the loser was Bill. I've had my differences with him on things like NAFTA and his handling of the first Osama bin Laden encounter at the World Trade Center. But on the whole, he ran a good administration, made even better by a healthy economy which helped me to retire with equanimity.
In this campaign, I really hoped that Bill Clinton would stay in the wings, perhaps holding a cue card at the ready. But he was out on the hustings. I think of consciousness raising back in the days of NOW. Something seemed retro to me.
Too much gossip already. That's what I'm driving at. The rancor before the South Carolina election stole knowledge the public should have had. John Edwards didn't receive coverage of what he was doing up there in his corner of the state and he has a message, I think. Obama could have told more about how he will help the people of South Carolina. To say something hopeful, maybe, to live down the old cliche of being the buckle in the Bible Belt. And Hillary could have gone to some colleges and rapped with this new generation facing a time when the nation is trying to pull out of another foolish incursion.
So, if the candidates could put some muscle in their speeches–which the media would surely have to cover–we here in the wordworking department could help them get their messages reported accurately.
Margaret Bassett is an 86-year old, currently living in senior housing, with a lifelong interest in political conumbrums. She hopes to hold out for one more presidential election. Bachelors from State University of Iowa (1944) and Masters from Roosevelt University (1975) help to unravel important requirements for modern communication. Early introduction to computer science (1966) trumps them. It's payback time. She's been "entitled" so long she hopes to find some good coming off the keyboard into the lives of those who come after her.
Read the top story published on OpEdNews.com on January 17, 2008 - An Open Letter to Senator John Edwards: The Constitution Prohibits Secret Vote Counting! Will You Take Action?
What Happens When the People Lose the Power to Control Government and What You Can Do to Take the Power Back? If you care about the safety of your family, read this article now, and send it to all of your contacts today. Now is the time for action! http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_mark_ada_080204_what_happens_when_th.htm
I read one of your articles from a link. Will try to learn more. Certainly, I have no expertise in sound voting procedures. But, oh, the lore! For example, ballots from a Republican part of Chicago thrown in Lake Michigan during Nixon/Kennedy, and close outcome. You undoubtedly studied the history of machine politics since the days of JFK's grandfather. So I think of Teddy and Caroline coming out for Obama. JFK's father had a connection to Chicago through the Merchanise Mart. Details are fuzzy now, but I never did know what was fact and what was fantasy. I read in Obama's book some comments of Harold Washington and the real estate tycoon, which appearantly made him skeptical of helping his clients in the housing project, and he shortly left for law school.
Or how about the Truman/Prendergast times, or Boss Crump in Memphis? None of this is to say that elections now should be excused because of past laxness.
How can Secretaries of State (50 of them) come together to make protocols favorable for all states? Do you really think HAVA was a real step forward?
These are general questions. I wanted to tell you that in Blount County TN early voting is done more by machine than paper ballots. I would guess that other places do the same. So are we as well off voting early? I don't know. Our electronic equipment gives us a little number as a receipt in case there is an investigation. Some other parts of the state have different equipment, I understand.
Two things stand out for me. Psychologically, there is, has been in the past, real worry over the counting process. As far as I've ever heard, the election commission officials are hardly vetted, and most likely not bonded. And if new announcements were made concerning rules, they would be met with skepticism. Legislatively, additional laws do not settle the connivances of political parties to have a leg up. Considering gerrymandering, legacy delegates, primary date oneupmanship, and more, it seems hard to believe any comprehensive national policy could ever be made while each state has its own peculiarities.
As to your first premise, sure would be nice for John Edwards to do some serious study on voting law. Any way to restore confidence in the system would be great, given the rocky start we got off to in 2000.
by
Margaret Bassett (19 articles, 1113 quicklinks, 24 diaries, 615 comments)
on Monday, February 4, 2008 at 11:11:03 PM
