Blog of R'kik D'nec

So obviously, I just got done watching the Presidential debate, and like about a million other bloggers I'm going to throw in my 2 cents to the conversation. First of all, let me say that my vote doesn't matter. I'm registered and voting absentee in New York, which is a "blue" state no matter what I do, just because of NYC. So before the debate I was leaning toward Bush, not because I like him or what he's done particularly, but because I didn't know that much about how Kerry proposed to handle a lot of issues. Also, I figure that since we are in Iraq and we are in the middle of things so to speak, we should let Bush finish what he started. War is not a quick and easy issue, and of course the reconstruction is not going to happen overnight. Whether or not it was right to go to war in Iraq is irrelevant. What matters now is that we are there and things are not stable. I think that if anything, we need to be stronger in Iraq and really crush them into submission, while at the same time working to train them to take care of themselves. Ideally, after we get done with all of that, I'd like to see America return to its traditional policy of neutrality. Odds are, though, that will never happen. Anyway, in the debate I thought that Kerry presented himself very well. He seemed more at ease and collected than Bush, and really seemed in control of things. More importantly, however, he finally got into some details about how he proposed to handle the current situation. I liked what he had to say about how a new administration and a new credibility could help convince other nations to give their support. However, I didn't like how he kept attacking Bush on how we shouldn't be in Iraq in the first place. Quite simply, that doesn't matter anymore! We are there and we need to hear more about how you propose to handle the present. Overall, I think Kerry had a strong showing and made me more comfortable with him as a candidate. I felt a lot of what Bush was saying was just the same things he's been saying for months. As I alluded to before, there is an advantage to staying with the status quo, but he should at least find a new way to say things. Bush's speaking seemed a little more perturbed and uneasy, which was contradictory to his message of strength and stability. I did like what Bush had to say about the terrorists having millions of ways to harm us, and how they only have to be right once, and then going on to make the case that we must be offensive. I think that has a lot of merit. No matter what we do, the country is never going to be 100% safe, and the more we do, the more our personal freedoms will be restricted, which I totally oppose. I think Bush could have given a better performance. He has a strong and simple message, but he has to elaborate and not sound like he's saying the same things over and over.
In the end though, if I had to vote today, I probably wouldn't vote. Really, what the debate showed me more than ever was how similar the candidates and the two parties really are. Honestly, I don't think it matters who wins the election. Things will unfold pretty much the same. I mean, how much is really under the control of the President? There is only so much that he can do. There are just too many events and variables out of his control. Look at 9/11 and how unpredictable it was and how drastically it changed everything. (Or, if you rather, how little it has changed things.) Anyway, come on people, the candidates have the same views. I really wish that third parties could be heard and that the American public would accept that it doesn't have to be a two party system. Furthermore, I'm tired of people being violently pro-Kerry or pro-Bush. I'm sick of people who are convinced that if their candidate doesn't win that the world will end. Come on people.....no matter what happens nothing will change!
So I guess that's my take on the debate, some world issues right now, and the American political system in general. Please, fell free to comment. :)

Current Mood: Regretful
Currently listening to: A Ghost Is Born by Wilco
Last movie I saw: (still) THX 1138
One line review: (still) Very stylish, but that made it somewhat hard to follow; the ending was kind of cheesy
On a scale of 0-5 sucks (0 being the best): (still) 2.0 sucks (on style)