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The Pinhead Factor

[1]An anonymous writer at The Real Sporer [2] Tuesday night made an interesting observation that I think we should not only understand but build an action plan upon.

At the end of the second Presidential Debate there were a few trailing comments at Ted’s site (including one from yours truly), and the final one at about 12:20 AM stated:

I feel like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. Instead of repeating “there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home”
I find myself repeating “Maybe democrats aren’t so bad, maybe democrats aren’t so bad”. I know it’s just a psychological coping mechanism. BHO is a damn good debater. He doesn’t have much substance but unfortunately we live with at least 50.1% pinheads. I am concerned.

I can’t help but agree with both parts of this writer’s statement: Obama is definitely gifted at making people feel good about what he’s saying without actually saying anything.  The other is, there are far too many people that are easily taken in by a feel-good no-substance presentation; these are the pinheads.

Of course, I don’t believe anyone who takes the time to read at sites like TCR, or who research politicians positions and records, or who take the time to understand how our government works fall into this category.  I don’t think that the real standard bearers of the left or the right fall into this category.  There are many who steadfastly understand and defend their positions, and regardless of where they fall on the spectrum, I respect their right to hold those positions.

And even those who struggle with having enough time to understand the issues, but who honestly try, are better than the pinheads.

I have trouble, however, with those that live off of 15 second sound bites.  Or who watch a debate and even the fluffy spin afterward and believe they understand the issues and the candidates and the impact the candidates’ views have on our future.  Who believe that a “bipartisan” commission investigating Sarah Palin’s actions as Governor constitutes an impartial perspective, or worse yet, a legal conviction of her actions.

Those who believe after 30 minutes of listening to Obama provide invectives and criticisms, making smart remarks about Bush and McCain, and blithely pushing the topical hot buttons without providing any depth of knowledge or solution for those issues, that they’ve heard something revolutionary, something that will shake the halls of our nation and usher in a new democracy.

Or who even admittedly express the excitement they feel over the idea of the first black president being elected.

The presidential election is turning into a circus, my friends, with Tom Brokaw as the Ring Master.

Clearly, even those who would seek to understand what it going on face challenges as the Main Stream Media filters everything through its skewed mindset.  But those who see the world through this filter cannot be those of as pinheads.

I don’t think the answer is to somehow coerce or disuade the voting of those who have a light touch on the realities of national politics.

The answer, I believe, is to show them the value of knowledge.  Demonstrate the tremendous impact of adding to their enthusiasm an even deeper understanding of real issues facing us, and the candidates perspectives.

Brokaw himself, spoke these pearls of wisdom after 25 minutes of back and forth between Rob Portman (R-former US House from Ohio, former United States Trade Representative, former Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and McCain supporter) and Jon Corzine (D-Governor of New Jersey, former chairman of Goldman Sachs, and Obama supporter).  These two had differing perspectives on events, facts, and issues that actually seemed to fluster Brokaw, and caused him to suggest that people should go to the campaign web sites to get the facts! From today’s Meet The Press [3]:

MR. BROKAW:  Let me, let me recommend that our viewers go to the respective Web sites of these two campaigns…

FMR. REP. PORTMAN:  Yeah.

MR. BROKAW:  …to get a real picture of what their health care plans are.

A point which I cannot help but thoroughly support and reinforce.  If you feel like you don’t know for sure the positions and opinions of these two candidates (McCain and Obama), here are their campaign web sites:

John McCain: http://www.johnmccain.com/ [4]

Barack Obama: http://www.barackobama.com/index.php [5]

If you happen to think I’ve slighted you by calling you a “pinhead”, you may have misunderstood.  In my opinion, a pinhead would never have read to this point in the article.

Here’s the thing.  Please check into the candidates through whatever means you feel most comfortable.  And vote.  Do not let any candidate for any office, Democrat or Republican, take you in with flowery speech and empty promises.  Get to the core of what they believe, take a look at what they are really proposing and think through the long-term implications.

Teach your friends and families to do likewise.  I would even go so far as to be less than partisan in your dealings and just recommend the research, allowing people to reach their own conclusions.

Both now and throughout their terms, let your representatives at all levels know what you think about their work, the issues before them, and your views in general.  The more they hear, the more likely they are to consider your thoughts when acting on your behalf.

And if they don’t seem to be doing the work they were elected to do, or are clearly corrupt, vote the bums out!

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#1 Comment By kkarch On October 24, 2008 @ 8:36 pm

I agree, Obama is a slick socialist, and I have no intention of voting for him. On the other hand, I believe McCain isn’t much different than Obama, he might be a little better, but that’s not good enough at this point. It’s time to clear house, because our system is broken. We don’t have just one corrupt member of government, we have two chambers of the legislative branch full of them, and it’s because the system is currently broken. We need to change it and vote all incumbents out, liberal or conservative, until our federal bodies agree to term limits. I’m a conservative first, and it’s time we get real–the Republicans are just as corrupt as the Democrats, and we’ve allowed it to happen. If you want to check more of my thoughts out, I just started blogging: [6].