So, I finally
figured out why I think we've been having so much trouble with this
election. Why
neither of the main candidates "sit right", and why we have so much of
a problem seeing them as
Commander in Chief.
I was just taking a shower (I'm not sleeping tonight. Don't know why.), and it hit me.
Flashback: The Clinton - Dole race in 1996
Now, while there was some heavy campaigning, and some ambiguity, the reaction to
neither candidate was one of total disgust. Why? Well, Clinton had already proven
himself a capable leader by sitting four years in office. Dole was an accomplished
politician with a record of not being a jerk. Since the election, both men have proven
themselves to be intelligent, capable human beings. Whether Dole or Clinton won in
96, someone with a lick of sense would have run the country.
They are, in our big political family, trustworthy archetypes. Dole would be like the
grandfather who served in the war. He's stern, but has a great (if quirky) sense of
humor. Clinton's that aging uncle who is always telling the younger kids jokes and
teaching them naughty words, and offering the older kids a sip from his beer.
Trusted Archetypes.
And that's why Bush and Gore are not doing it for the American people.
Because they TOO are archetypes in the Political family.
They're sucky ones.
Bush is that rowdy cousin that everyone hates showing up to family deals. He shows
up drunk, swears in front of the smallest kids, and then passes out in the front lawn,
pissing himself. Gore is that bookish eldest grandkid that sits by himself at family
deals reading. He hasn't yet figured out that social interaction is fun, and that you
need to show people what you're really thinking before they'll let you in. He needs some time to work on his people skills.
They're young. They're not terribly bright.
They are our nation's crappy kids.
And we're going to be stuck with one of them by the end of the day.
Crap.