If the polls are to be believed, the upcoming presidential election season offers one of the greatest opportunities for change on the political landscape in my memory. President Bush’s approval rating is bouncing around historic lows for a sitting president and the approval rating for congress is even lower. The American public is really disgusted with the whole bunch.
Besides the very unpopular war we are engaged in, people are fed up with the fact that these politicians are incapable of breaking through partisan bickering and actually running the country. The tit-for-tat, he said-she said noise pollution cloud that hangs over Washington is choking out healthy dialogue and meaningful progress. It is a toxic atmosphere. It reminds me of the time that the coach benched the entire first team and sent the second and third string players into the game because the starters weren’t playing up to our potential. Voters are ready to bench the under achievers and send in new players with different attitudes and skill sets.
What I am hoping for is that enough of us will break away from blind party loyalties on both sides of the aisle to find out who among the candidates offers the clearest vision for the future and can break through the current impasse. That will mean refusing to let the media, the spin controllers, agenda peddlers, and radical fringes do our thinking for us. It will mean reading between the lines, studying policy and voting records and taking note of what the candidates really stand for. It will mean forgetting about Paris Hilton and Rosie O’Donnell and their ilk while we focus on more important things. It will mean thinking beyond local politics and reasoning through foreign policy implications. It will mean looking out for not only our own interests, but also the interests of others. It will mean offering with our vote the opportunity to govern this great nation only to those who are genuinely motivated by public service not greed and lust for power, and who refuse to pander to special interest groups. It will mean saying a resounding NO to the politics that settles for the lowest common denominator and avoids solving the big issues of our time. Remember, we voted in those who are failing us and we can find replacements to put in their place.
