Not all who wander are lost...

 
BIG CITY VS SMALL TOWN...

The controversial conclusion to 2000's presidential election coupled with the close nature of this year's election has brought much attention to how we as Americans elect our president... or should I say... how the Electoral College elects our president.

When the framers of the Constitution first devised the Electoral College and the two-house structure of the legislative branch, they were hoping to ensure that large states with large populations would not run roughshod over small states with smaller populations. This made perfect sense at the time. Statism (as opposed to nationalism) was a serious matter and there was no way the framers would get enough of the smaller states to ratify the Constitution without granting them some venue of equal power.

Now that the electoral map is once again causing such a ruckus, many people are calling for an overhaul of the election process, and more specifically the Electoral College. A look at the electoral map clearly shows Bush doesn't enjoy his current place in the electoral vote polls on account of his wooing of a diverse array of states, but rather an overwhelming solidarity to him shown by smaller states with smaller Electoral College tallies. What troubles me more than the notion that small states with small populations are exerting a disproportionate impact on the presidential election is the realization that is it not so much the small states, but small towns.

Kerry is big city. Bush is small town. It's that simple. Outside of Bush's homestate of Texas, I doubt Bush will win the popular vote in any of our nation's 20 most populous cities. New York City? Nope. Los Angeles? No way. Chicago? Yeah right. Philadelphia? San Francisco? Washington, D.C.? San Francisco? Seattle? Miami? Atlanta?

Bush might win re-election based solely on his ability to appeal to the sophisticated people of Omaha.

What's wrong with the idea of small towns electing the leader of the free world? In most years... nothing. I will explain in my next post why that notion is a nightmare in 2004.





posted by Sean McMahon at 1:29 AM

 
FINAL COUNTDOWN...

Now that the election is just one week away, I reckon now is the time to get cracking on putting pen to paper about some thoughts that have been percolating in my head for the past few months before they lose their timeliness. So, in the coming days, I hope to touch on some of the key issues and angles I believe have been either underplayed, or completely overlooked this campaign season.

posted by Sean McMahon at 1:26 AM

 
GET OVER FRANCE...

To all the right-wing, conservative, Bush-loving, Bill O-Reilly-worshiping, dittoheads out still holding your grudges against France... get over yourselves!

You are calling for "boycotts" of a nation that opted not to join Bush's Iraq misadventure because they didn't think Saddam had anything to do with 9/11 and our intelligence didn't convince them Saddam's "weapons of mass destruction" were an imminent threat.

Step out of the "no-spin zone" for a breath or two, and you just might see France was RIGHT!

posted by Sean McMahon at 2:21 PM

 
"FINISH HIM JOHNNY!"

So for the first time last Friday, I got excited about John Kerry's campaign for president. Well, perhaps "excited" is too strong a word. Let's go with "aware."

For months and months, I hadn't really been able to detect anything resembling an organized, strategic campaign coming from the Democrats. One day its the war... the next its the economy... the next its health care... blah... blah... blah. To this day, they still haven't developed any kind of slogan or idea that permiates everything they do.

So coming off last Thursday's first presidential debate, I felt like perhaps Kerry was about to come alive and get on-message. Kerry crushed Bush in the foreign policy debate. When Fox News even has a hard time forcing itself to declare Bush an all out winner, you know you did some damage to good ol' W. All the post-debate spin was breaking Kerry's way. New polls showed Bush's 8%-9% lead pre-debate had evaporated and the two men were back to a statistical dead-heat for the White House.

Clearly, Kerry had found Bush's weakness on Iraq. The difference between the picture Bush is painting about Iraq and what is actually going on is dramatic. Surely Kerry would come out swinging Monday and run with characterizing Bush as an "out of touch" president. So what issue does Kerry hammer Bush on On Monday?

Stem-cell research.

Stem-cell research!?!?

Don't get me wrong. I'm as passionate in my support of stem-cell research as the next guy, but c'mon, you don't win the White House campaigning on an issue most Americans know frighteningly little about. Not everyone has an opinion about stem-cell research... everyone has a passionate opinion on Iraq. Kerry had found the chink in Bush's "war president" armor... how about a little twist of the knife?

posted by Sean McMahon at 2:10 PM

 
KERRY A GO-GO...

So for the very first time last Friday, I was actually a little bit excited about John Kerry's campaign. Using the term "excited" may be a bit of an overstatement... let's just say I realized his campaign had begun. Up until that first debate, anything resembling an organized, strategic campaign wore red colors, not blue.

Throughout the campaign, Kerry had failed to stick with any one message for more than a day or two at a time. Much like that Bush campaign ad, Kerry's message shifted with the wind... one day Iraq... the next... the economy... then health care. This was so infuriating because none of his messages were given any time to take hold before he switched to the next topic.

So last Friday I was feeling a bit reassured. Kerry had crushed Bush in a foreign policy debate. Over the weekend, the post-debate spin spun even more in favor of Kerry. Bush's lead in the polls had evaporated. Kerry had begun what I thought would be a lengthy dismantling of Bush's fliop-flopping post-war Iraq planning. I felt Kerry would soon gain traction by painting Bush as a president "out of touch" with the facts on the ground in Iraq.

So what does Kerry do on Monday???

He hammers Bush on stem cell research.

Stem cell research!?!?!

I'm as passionate as the next guy in my support for stem cell research, but c'mon, the entire country doesn't even know the details of what it is about, let alone feel strongly one way or the other on the matter! You've found the chink in Bush's "war president" armor on the topic Americans are most passionate about... Iraq. Everyone cares about Iraq... twist the knife buddy!


posted by Sean McMahon at 1:57 PM