Political Science 101
With November creeping up on us, both parties are struggling for an issue to rally the American people behind. For the Republicans, the issue is the war on terror. For the Democrats, it’s the economy, stupid.
Republicans: The American people seem to be in agreement on invading Iraq but the Eurowheenies want to have none of that (see other rant). The disagreement among Americans only seems to be when. The camps of thought on that are (1) do it now, (2) wait until Iraq does something stupid, or (3) give them an ultimatum to submit to inspections, then invade when they don’t. But these options aren’t good for Dubya’s political career. He learnt from Daddy (who had the highest approval rating ever during the Gulf War yet still lost to Bubba) not to take such an action until closer to reelection time. So, the timing isn’t quite right to do it now. It could likely happen in mid 2004. This line of thinking does not bode well for the American people. Of course, it’s speculation on my part.
Democrats: What can I say? The economy is actually doing Okay. Economic indicators are actually good. The problem is that the stock market (which unfortunately most Economists equate as being the economy) is kinda shaky. Hell, my 401(k) lost $5,643.30 this week. So, the Democrats are in the process of talking down the economy. It’s all they can do since they really have no issue that they can rally the American people behind. All of this, despite the fact the economy is really not that bad. People are buying cars, houses, interest rates are down, and our economic indicators are up. Why do they do this? Well, they learnt from Clinton that it’s the economy, stupid. And if the economy is bad then we must have a bad president. Now, here’s my problem with this line of thinking: The government can’t control the economy. Though the Clintonistas would have you believe that the 90s boom was due to Clinton, they are wrong. See, if the government could control the economy, we’d never have recessions or depressions. But we do have them, irregardless of government action. All the government can do is add or remove governmental barriers to the economy. In other words, their only controls over the economy are taxes, subsidies, fines, and a few other things. These things, however, do not decide if we have a recession or depression. Now, the stock market is a different issue as investors are uncertain due to the recent corporate scandals. So, the Democratic strategy is to mention corporate corruption and Bush & Cheney in the same sentence. Again, this line of thinking does not bode well for the American people.
So, bear these things in mind as you read your news. The end result will be that each party will take their stance on their respective issue. Then, each side will develop their plan on the other party’s issue. Both sides will then focus on making the other party look bad and nothing will get done. And whoever can hire the best PR people will get elected by the people of the Divided States of Embarrassment (to use an Eminemism). It’s truly a pity.
