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October 19, 2004
*Letter to the Editor* Please don’t befriend me, Mr. President
Something occurred to me as I watched the last presidential debate between Senator Kerry and
President Bush: I realized that neither person, should they be elected, is going to be my friend.
I cannot conceive of a foreseeable future in which I will hunt possum in Crawford with G-Dubs (as I would call him if, against all odds, our inconceivable friendship should ever blossom). I do not hope (or dare to dream) that Johnsta th’ Monsta will take time off from his hard-won and demanding presidential seat to come to my house to watch Futurama. Neither Kerry nor Bush will never hang out with me.
Hence, I now understand my growing disgust with politicians who use pathos in their attempt to win my vote.
The right to the presidential seat does not rely solely on the ability of the person to make decisions “with their gut,” or with personal reflection on the rightness of their actions. Presidential decisions rely on utter righteousness in the face of utter immorality, not chutzpah in response to a challenge. Presidents are not normal people, and they are not your friends, either.
You can choose your friends and you can choose your president, but only one of those choices can you make by yourself.
When a candidate tries to make me like him or her by appearing agreeable or showing how much nicer they are than the other, it makes me wonder about how serious they really are about politics. I do not require the Commander-in-Chief to be agreeable with me on a personal level.
Here is a secret that will make my fellow Democrats cringe: I think Bush might actually be a nice guy. But he is still a political asshole. And Kerry seems nice, toočaww, isn’t that special? No, it is not special. I do not care. Kerry is the better political choice.
News flash, people: The president is a politician. In fact, he or she becomes the embodiment of American politics every fourth Jan. 20, sometimes bearing the burden twice. We may have the luxury of making various decisions using our feeble emotional tools. I do it every day and it is fun, but the president does not have that luxury.
My fellow Americans, we are not electing a buddy. The Oval Office will never be our hangout, and we will not be privy to how funny Putin looked or how “French” Chirac looked.
No, we are electing someone to be head of the political machine, and I will be damned if I will let that machine malfunction because someone thought one candidate or another was “mean” or “cared more.”
All we need to know is whether or not they can do the job. It’s clear that only one candidate has a shred of political decency. A vote for the other is madness. Vote Kerry 2004.
Leslie R. Schumacher
CLA Senior
Posted by msveum at October 19, 2004 11:38 AM
Comments
This is a comment for all the opinions this week... Your BORING... Do you think that what you have to say about the world is more interesting then what I can read in the New York Times, The IHT, the BBC, the list goes on... Write about Hamline, write about the community around it... Write about somthing I can read without falling asleep... We all know George Bush sucks, we all hate republicans.....LEAVE IT... Talk about something interesting please!!!
Posted by: Aurentz at October 20, 2004 12:12 AM
John - "Your BORING"
It's you're (you are). your implies possession.
And c'mon, elevate the dialogue just a smidge. Please?
Posted by: Brian at October 21, 2004 02:59 PM
Aurentz, if you find the editorals boring, I invite you to send us your own. 500 words max, due by 10/27 (Wednesday) at 5:00 p.m.
Posted by: Matt at October 21, 2004 04:07 PM
John, after all the good times we've shared, you had to go and make me cry.
Are you happy, now?
My wet, shiny tears are running down my boring face. Thanks a lot.
And the NYT is part of the liberal media, so I don't read it.
Posted by: Leslie at October 28, 2004 11:09 AM
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