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Election Ennui
Monday, November 5th, 2012 10:52 amI’m not expert, but it occurs to me that with the US Presidential Election due tomorrow and the candidates, yet again, running neck and neck, that what Americans clearly want is neither of them.
It does make me laugh when Obama gets called a “socialist” by an American media that has no clear concept of what socialism is. Frankly, it seems to me that there are times when Genghis Khan would have had difficulty with being portrayed as a commie-pinko in the American media.
Still, short of dropping THE BOMB on the UK, or banning the import of programmes for the telly box and comic books, the domestic events of the US of A will have no noticeable impact upon me, so I really don’t care. I try to care, but frankly, I don’t. I am having enough trouble taking an interest in the jokers we have this side of the pond. Politics isn’t and politicians aren’t what they used to be.
I can’t think of a single politician under the age of 80 who has anything like principles in the way I’d rather hope that a politician ought. There are a few ‘elder statesmen’ who I admire (though not necessarily agree with) because they have always stuck to their guns over the years, despite being increasingly marginalised by the tides of politics as much as by their advancing years.
Tony Benn is an example straight off the top of my head. Actually he’s probably the example par excellence. I disagree with his politics almost completely and I could never have brought myself to vote for him, but he has been constant and unwavering in his beliefs, which is not something that you can say of many career politicians. I believe that much of what he says is just plain wrong, but he has arrived at his beliefs by thinking them through and based them upon principles that he sees as sacrosanct. Throw a dart at a board with photos of the current membership of the Commons and I’d offer very good odds that you would never hit a single person of any political party who could hold a candle to him on that front.
Returning to American politics, just about anyone I have ever heard of on the contemporary scene looks to be about as out of touch as anyone we have over here. In fact, given the amounts of money required to conduct an election in the US – what $6billion this campaign with one day to go – I begin to understand why so few people can be bothered over there, too. In national elections at least – I understand that the position is a little healthier at local level, where just about everyone above janitor is elected.
It does make me laugh when Obama gets called a “socialist” by an American media that has no clear concept of what socialism is. Frankly, it seems to me that there are times when Genghis Khan would have had difficulty with being portrayed as a commie-pinko in the American media.
Still, short of dropping THE BOMB on the UK, or banning the import of programmes for the telly box and comic books, the domestic events of the US of A will have no noticeable impact upon me, so I really don’t care. I try to care, but frankly, I don’t. I am having enough trouble taking an interest in the jokers we have this side of the pond. Politics isn’t and politicians aren’t what they used to be.
I can’t think of a single politician under the age of 80 who has anything like principles in the way I’d rather hope that a politician ought. There are a few ‘elder statesmen’ who I admire (though not necessarily agree with) because they have always stuck to their guns over the years, despite being increasingly marginalised by the tides of politics as much as by their advancing years.
Tony Benn is an example straight off the top of my head. Actually he’s probably the example par excellence. I disagree with his politics almost completely and I could never have brought myself to vote for him, but he has been constant and unwavering in his beliefs, which is not something that you can say of many career politicians. I believe that much of what he says is just plain wrong, but he has arrived at his beliefs by thinking them through and based them upon principles that he sees as sacrosanct. Throw a dart at a board with photos of the current membership of the Commons and I’d offer very good odds that you would never hit a single person of any political party who could hold a candle to him on that front.
Returning to American politics, just about anyone I have ever heard of on the contemporary scene looks to be about as out of touch as anyone we have over here. In fact, given the amounts of money required to conduct an election in the US – what $6billion this campaign with one day to go – I begin to understand why so few people can be bothered over there, too. In national elections at least – I understand that the position is a little healthier at local level, where just about everyone above janitor is elected.