Commander in Chief

The issues?

Who is in charge of buying the donuts?

Or, the end of the world?

Whatever?

Commander in Chief, Leader of the Free World, the POTUS, the "Big Cheese", the Prez.

What ever you want to call him or her, The President of the United States is somebody to be reckoned with. Perhaps the "Numero Ono" VIP in United States and World politics.

And you get to choose!

In "olden days" we had emperors, pharohs, tzars, khans all individuals who had unlimited powers over vast geographic areas, populations, and economic resources.

And what exactly was the basis of this unlimited authority? How about raw, unaccountable power? You, as a little person, had absolutely no choice. This was not a good thing.

People all over the world pretty much did as they were told even if it meant living in abject poverty, having no economic opportunity, sacrificing ones life in meaningless warfare, and having nothing to show for the sacrifice. There were no elections; there was no campaign season; there was no discussion over campaign finance; there were no debates over the issues. People just did what they were told.

Sure, down through history, there were the occassional (all too infrequent) political assasinations. Big deal... 100,000 or more little people senselessly sacrificed for every single righetgous political assasination.

So... and I am finally getting around to my point... And no... I am NOT suggesting criminal political assasinations.

Quit bitching and try to make the world a better place! Get out there and take an interest in your Presidential options.

Yes, here we are again in the Presidential campaign season. Yes, it is a pain in the ass.

Already, just like you, I am sick to death of the Presidential politics and the election isn't even going to happen until November 2008. But I understand that as much as I am irritated by the process, this is a good thing... compared to what our ancestors had to deal with.

The amount of money we spend on political campaigns is almost unblievable. But so what? We Americans piss away incredible amounts of money for all kinds of meaningless stuff. Perhaps investing a little money on our future is not such a crazy thing.

The list of potential candidates on both the Democratic and Republican side of the contest is long. Yes, I could probably list the names but I really don't think it is necessary or appropriate at this time. I have no favorites and tend to believe that it is way to premature to commit to any one candidate.

There are several "interesting" possibilities and a lot more clear and obvious loosers. Bless their hearts (the loosers) for trying and maybe contributing a little to the debate... Keep in mind, the loosers are not always really loosers. They serve an important purpose.

In America, anybody can be President! Even the "Governator" with a few minor Constitutional adjustments (otherwise known as Constitutional amendments).

My point here is that as painful and inconvienent as it is to live through another Presidential political campaign season, it is a hell of a lot better than the alternative. Americans have choices.

Think of what people down through history have suffered. No say. No opportunity. No choices. Just do what you are told. Die if necessary. And... believe me... lots did.

Yes, the President of the United States can and does send soldiers to war... to die... to carry out missions that may have uncertain results...

We worry about that... but we are Americans and we know we have choices.

As Americans we little people actually have a say and choices as to who is going to be representing our interests. We can criticize our President, our Congressmen, our local politicians, and even our dog catcher. They work for us.

We can question the war in Iraq. We can question our Middle East policy. We can question our energy policy. We can question everything. Americans need to remember just how good it is to be a free society.

In fact, all freedom loving people have an obligation to be highly skeptical and critical of our government. Politicians make mistakes. That is what history is all about. Did you ever read a history book that did not talk about wars, most of which did not work out so well?

Through our efforts as little people who exercise our rights as free people, America is still the greatest nation in history on this earth. So lets keep up the good work.

So... suck it up... take a deep breath and get ready for the Presidential campaign of 2008. It won't be fun but it is a lot better than our ancestors suffered. Take some interest in who these candidates are. None of them is perfect. None of them have all the answers.

This is actually important.

Always remember, somebody has got to be in charge! Do you want to leave that responsibility to somebody who is primairly interested in who is going to buy the donuts?


NOTE: Yes, the Commonwealth Iconoclast is still here. Over the past few months, I moved and got a new job following the 2006 elections (go get them Jim Webb). Broke my collar bone in a soccer match. Generally, I have been too busy with other things to tend to the blog. To be honest, I am suffering some ribbing for being just too lazy to keep up the blog work. This may be true. But with the politics heating up at the national, state and local level again, I am feeling that it may be helpful to once again weigh in with my humble opinions on issues little and small, great and unfathomable.