Presidence Under Some Arrangement

I was born during an election year. It was the year the peanut farmer took on the veteran Hollywood actor. And show business won, Ronald Reagan would go onto rule the nation for 8 years. I don't remember much about Reagan except he reminded me of that third grandpa I never had. His wife Nancy was grandma and she along with Punky Brewster told me to 'Just Say No'. I didn't really say much until I was in elementary school anyway and most of it was school related. Saying 'yes' was like a curse word because I took everything literally.

But enough about me, let's stop beating around the bush and briefly address the elder Bush. He was Reagan's VP and he was another old fart who guided us through that brief skermish called Desert Storm. I remember Lee Greenwood scored a hit with 'Proud To Be An American', I was disappointed that Rick Derringer's theme for Hulk Hogan 'Real American' didn't own the slot of captivating the nation in the early 1990s during this conflict. But then again, Hulkamania was waning at that point. Figuratively speaking, we needed someone to moon us in the 1990s.

We got our wish with Bill Clinton, a charismatic younger gentleman who took up for the Democrats as the Republican wave of the 1980s was passing by. Bill was a ambiguously lovable yet immoral figure who had sexual relations with a woman that wasn't his wife. It was a sign of the times that he was able to come out looking like a bouquet of roses after that debacle. That's politics for you, this was an era where the most ignominious figure of the era was O.J. Simpson, a man whom all the evidence pointed to him killing his own wife, but he was absolved of the crime by a jury that couldn't prove him guilty. This would mark the beginning of the rise of tabloid culture where the general public would seek out famous people's dirty laundry and put it out on the proverbial clothesline of popular consumption.

This leads us to another Bush, the prior Bush's son. The class clown, The Lone Star Forrest Gump, G.W. would lead the nation in an ever changing world full of terrorism, devastating natural disasters and untenable global conflict with a shit eating grin. Soldiers are scarce and the ruckus is a plenty. Never has the nation been more divided about a leader in my lifetime. In a two-party political system such as the U.S., you either like or dislike the figurehead.

Sure it's easy to simplify the situation, but in 2007, there are shades of grey. Anyone can get on the Internet and espouse about just about anything from video footage of themselves and other lighting their smelly farts on fire to a harangue about the ill will of sweatshops an ocean away producing cheap goods with even cheaper labor. There are shades of gray, what is right, what is wrong? Do we even know anymore? There is no cut and dry answer.

This leads us to another election. The current Bush can't serve another term and we are searching for another leader. I don't really follow politics on nothing more than what's on the surface. My opinions are purely from a visceral perspective. I see Billy's wife and Barack Obama getting a lot of pub on the Democratic side. Some say they'd form a ticket of a woman and an African-American and pool their demographic. Politicians are supposed to serve the people, but moreso they serve their own self-interests instead of being altruistic figures. It would be an interesting duo. A nation would be divided, there are enough people that would support this unprecedented ticket yet there are just as many that would be unwilling to yield to history in the making.

On the other side, you have what appears to be a dozen different fellows trying to keep the ball in the Republican court at the top of the helm. Somebody has gotta step up, whomever is "Most Likely To Succeed" or fulfills whatever requisite superlative that's in vogue on the day the hammer drops will represent. I abhor primary elections in this day and age. How can you let a state like Iowa play such a pivotal role in determining who is going to run the nation? Name four notable things to ever come out of Iowa. (I think I'm being generous with the number four here)

Politics is show business, this is why a C student with the Kodak smile and Ric Flair swagger can thrive within the legislative climate. I'm unenrolled, sometimes I abstain from voting. People tell me I should vote all the time. I have the power to elect someone based on claims, promises and heresay. People hold their elected officials to their word. I always find it funny when they made when politicians don't necessarily live up to what they say. It's like getting mad at J.D. Drew for taking too many third strikes, flying out or grounding into a double play in the late innings with men on base; you have no control how they act. Sure it's bullshit, but that's the nature of the beast. You see it in the media, you see in the entrepeneural sector, the scams, the double dealing, the ballwashing, it's ubiquitous.

Now let's all do the Macarena.