From a recent Volokh Conspiracy (http://www.volokh.com) post:
But as I’ve looked at the actual policy positions of the two more closely, it seems to me that Obama really seems to be pretty far out there. He is no Bill Clinton. And from what I can tell none of those libertarians or conservatives who are Obama supporters are attracted to because of his positions (other than those who care strongly about the Iraq war and foreign policy), but rather because of who he is. Obama is a compelling personality. But in reading these encomiums to him, I haven’t seen any explanation as to how Obama’spolicies on tax, trade, spending, or regulatory would be friendlier to individual liberty than what is likely to be McCain’s (as weak as those will be). As someone observed somewhere recently, this is about the first time in history that you have endorsements from people who endorse Obama on the hope that he won’t do what he says he’ll do rather than because of what he says he’ll do.
This could not possibly be more accurate. As I think about it, I fall into the aforementioned libertarians-for-Obama category for precisely the reasons stated. To me, who he is makes a far more compelling argument for electing him than what he says. His mere act of taking the publicly elected office at the head of our country represents the kind of social liberation politicians could previously only talk about. The idle stream of empty words dribbling from his lips is irrelevant, and largely no different than the equally banal puffery emanating from his opponent. They’re both going to continue the statist policies of their respective forbears, and from a wholly philosophical viewpoint, their differences are insignificant. No matter what, I’m going to keep getting five digits removed from my income to fund governmental incompetence, and proprietary views of morality will still be controlled by legislation.
So, I figure, I might as well vote for the guy who isn’t a) old, b) white, and c) doesn’t come attached to Golly Gee Yabetcha Palin. Sad is the day that I vote for a president based on something other than than his or her ideology, but it isn’t as if we have any better choices.
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2 Responses for "How not to vote, part 1"
All too true. At the end of the day, this country doesn’t need better leadership as much as it needs a savvier public that’ll hold its leaders accountable. Americans probably won’t care that much until they’re a lot less comfortable than they are now. I’m guessing that it’ll take more than a recession, even a really nasty one, to get Joe the Plumber to write a letter to his elected officials.
Still, it’d be nice to have a head-of-state who isn’t a laughingstock, and all of this hubbub has gotten a lot of folks interested in government. I know it woke me up from apathy and indifference.
Wasn’t it the magnetic, zombie like attraction of the 2000 “Golly Gee Yabetcha” campaign strategy, that has us in our current state of turmoil?
She’s so damn personable, why isn’t that a leadership quality? Sheeyeah.
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