FLAIT

I sent this into the local newspaper but it wasn't published; probably because it's too long.

For the past six years the Bush administration has acted like a conservative talk radio program where spin and keeping the Republican base riled up by insulting and ridiculing Democrats ("liberals") are their only priorities. For the past six months, the Democratic controlled Congress has accomplished little, except of course keeping the pork flowing through legislative earmarks. And we wonder why nothing worthwhile in Congress ever gets done. Perhaps it's because they're all too busy running for President.

Speaking of which, not one Presidential candidate has made an issue out the asinine way we elect our presidents; i.e having to raise an obscene amount of money, having to start their campaigns a year before the first primary and almost two years before the election itself (don't these guys have day jobs?) and the obsolete Electoral College.

Since Washington has never addressed those issues, over $1 billion will be spent this year and next just so a handful of voters in a handful of states can choose the nominees, and even fewer - for all intents and purposes - will elect the next president (and a half a billion dollars will be spent on the Congressional campaigns).

(Jan. 2008 insert: When you thought this process couldn't get any more asinine, it does).

This is insane. Making matters worse, the Presidential candidates think this campaign is about theme songs and YouTube videos. I'd like to remind them -- especially Hillary Clinton who recently cut a video spoofing the Sopranos finale that introduced her theme song -- that this is about becoming the next President of the United States, not the next Academy Award winner.

While vain politicians are spending half their time raising money and the other half playing their petty partisan games, we have a disastrous war in Iraq, the Taliban reemerging in Afghanistan, al-Qaeda going global, Iran and North Korea going nuclear, the Gaza Strip going crazy, an exploding budget deficit and debt, rising health care costs that are bankrupting families, businesses and governments at all levels, long term solvency concerns with Social Security and Medicare, a major U.S. city and their levies that need rebuilding (still), gaping holes -- figuratively and literally -- in our immigration laws and border security, an energy policy that's become mostly a pandering contest to corn farmers and a corrupt campaign finance system that's nothing less then legalized bribery. And there's not a single politician out there who's angry enough, cares enough and honest enough that would toss politics and the lobbyists aside and take on those difficult issues for the good of the country. And that should be taken as a slap in the face to every one of us.