Feed the Lions! The Game of Presidential Elections

Black Swan

Why do I think that the US presidential election is promoted and staged just like an American football game? There's two cross-town rival teams with a history of highly emotional angst pitted against each other, with weeks before the game to promote and drive up fan excitement. The difference between the gridiron teams and the two political parties (Democrats and Republicans) is that after the game has been won by one side, there is little evidence of good sportmanship. Rather, the losing team (party) leaves the stadium and slashes the tyres, bashes in the windows, and keys the cars of the winning team's fans.

The forthcoming mid-term 2014 elections can be compared to the summer training camp in preparation for the regular season presidential games.

Of course, this so called popular "reality show" of the presidential election distracts the voters from the REAL issues that affect their life style and chances, allowing the more focused and rich special interests to have their way behind closed doors. Unknown to most fans (voters), special interests like Big Oil donates to both teams (presidential candidates) before the game, so they cannot lose. The Roman Caesars would be proud.

Amerika

Go Red!

Black Swan

Amerika wrote: »

Go Red!

After Red and Blue, the only remaining flag colour is White. Independents for White!

Manach

Actually the noted intellectual BBC correspondent for America,Alistiar Cooke, had high praise for American football, describing it as an open-air chess game and the most scientific of all outdoor games. Hence linking this to the US election system perhaps does a disservice to the sport. Perhaps a closer analogy being the WWF; the outlandish positions, the overwhelming hype and that it is all worked who wins by other interests.

Amerika

The US election process has always been a circus since day one. But even though the process is flawed we more often than not get good and sometimes remarkable people into office. And then there’s those other times when we get a Jimmy Carter or a Barack Obama.

Black Swan

Amerika wrote: »

The US election process has always been a circus since day one. But even though the process is flawed we more often than not get good and sometimes remarkable people into office. And then there’s those other times when we get a Jimmy Carter or a Barack Obama.

Can you name two or three that emerged in the last 3 decades or so out of this "circus" that were "remarkable people" as president, and why you think so?

Brian?

Black Swan wrote: »

Can you name two or three that emerged in the last 3 decades or so out of this "circus" that were "remarkable people" as president, and why you think so?

Presidents in the last 3 decades:
Ronald Reagan
George Bush
Bill Clinton
George W Bush
Barack Obama

I'm 100% sure who Amerika thinks is "remarkable", good aul Reagan. When the only real success as POTUS among them is actually Clinton.

Amerika

Black Swan wrote: »

Can you name two or three that emerged in the last 3 decades or so out of this "circus" that were "remarkable people" as president, and why you think so?

If I took my partisan hat off, I would only pick 2 from that list. Reagan, for restoring what many American believed in, and making us strong again in more ways than one. And Clinton, for having the foresight and ability to get things done with the political opposition, and reducing the deficit (even if some of it was a slight of hand). After leaving office I would rate Bush Sr and Carter (for the most part) as remarkable post-presidents.

And since WWII, I would rate Eisenhower and Nixon also as "remarkable people."

Black Swan

Did the presidential games end after being elected? "Remarkable people" in these ways too:

Amerika wrote: »

Nixon also as "remarkable people."

Forced to resign the presidency because of Watergate, and immediately pardoned by VP successor Gerald Ford for all the crimes he “committed or may have committed” while in office.

Amerika wrote: »

And Clinton, for having the foresight and ability to get things done with the political opposition, and reducing the deficit (even if some of it was a slight of hand).

Monica Lewinsky sex scandal, and becoming the 2nd president in US history to be impeached.

Amerika wrote: »

Reagan, for restoring what many American believed in, and making us strong again in more ways than one.

Iran-Contra Scandal: "The secret sale of U.S. weapons to Iran (which was supposed to help in the release of U.S. hostages in the Middle East). Some of the proceeds from these sales were used to covertly fund the Contra war in Nicaragua," which clearly violated the Boland Amendment passed by the US Congress.

So-called fiscally conservative Reagan (and Congress) appears to be associated with the start of the federal deficit doubling trend that continues to the present.

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Skylinehead

Black Swan wrote: »

Monica Lewinsky sex scandal, and becoming the 2nd president in US history to be impeached.

That and being a good president aren't mutually exclusive, not by a long shot.

Amerika

Black Swan wrote: »

Did the presidential games end after being elected? "Remarkable people" in these ways too:


Forced to resign the presidency because of Watergate, and immediately pardoned by VP successor Gerald Ford for all the crimes he “committed or may have committed” while in office.


Monica Lewinsky sex scandal, and becoming the 2nd president in US history to be impeached.



Iran-Contra Scandal: "The secret sale of U.S. weapons to Iran (which was supposed to help in the release of U.S. hostages in the Middle East). Some of the proceeds from these sales were used to covertly fund the Contra war in Nicaragua," which clearly violated the Boland Amendment passed by the US Congress.

So-called fiscally conservative Reagan (and Congress) appears to be associated with the start of the federal deficit doubling trend that continues to the present.

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You forgot Eisenhower's golf game was sub par.


Remarkable does not equate to saintly. Name me any historically deemed remarkable leader that doesn’t have some missteps in their careers.

Brian?

Skylinehead wrote: »

That and being a good president aren't mutually exclusive, not by a long shot.

I'd agree. It's important to remember why he was impeached though. It wasn't for getting head in the Oval office. It was for lying under oath.

Black Swan

Amerika wrote: »

And since WWII, I would rate ...Nixon also as "remarkable people."

Amerika wrote: »

You forgot Eisenhower's golf game was sub par.

At least Eisenhower gave compelling reasons for US citizens to be warned about the extraordinary influence of the Military Industrial Complex and its powerful lobbies. Probably part of the reason the US is involved in so many wars overtime.

Unfortunately such golf humour is too often used to distract from the damage that some of these leaders do. It may be appropriate for SNL, but not for the adverse impacts that such behaviour has on the reputation of the office, and the message it sends to other US political office holders, citizens, and international relations: It's OK to abuse the trust of citizens while in high political office, be it the presidency or Congress, just don't get caught.

To make light of Nixon's Watergate for example, his forced resignation from the presidency, his immediate pardon by Gerald Ford for all the crimes he “committed or may have committed” while in office, as well as the criminal conviction of his Vice President Spiro Agnew (extortion, bribery, and income-tax violations), while at the same time praising them as "remarkable people" I find a bit problematic.

If common folk "Joe the Plumber" gets a felony conviction, he is stigmatized for life as a criminal. If Nixon is forced from office and immediately pardoned for all the crimes he "committed or may have committed," let's put that all aside and look on the bright side, while we visit his Presidential Library in Yorba Linda. Yes, Nixon was "remarkable people," but not in the way you are presenting him.

Amerika

Black Swan wrote: »

At least Eisenhower gave compelling reasons for US citizens to be warned about the extraordinary influence of the Military Industrial Complex and its powerful lobbies. Probably part of the reason the US is involved in so many wars overtime.

Unfortunately such golf humour is too often used to distract from the damage that some of these leaders do. It may be appropriate for SNL, but not for the adverse impacts that such behaviour has on the reputation of the office, and the message it sends to other US political office holders, citizens, and international relations: It's OK to abuse the trust of citizens while in high political office, be it the presidency or Congress, just don't get caught.

To make light of Nixon's Watergate for example, his forced resignation from the presidency, his immediate pardon by Gerald Ford for all the crimes he “committed or may have committed” while in office, as well as the criminal conviction of his Vice President Spiro Agnew (extortion, bribery, and income-tax violations), while at the same time praising them as "remarkable people" I find a bit problematic.

If common folk "Joe the Plumber" gets a felony conviction, he is stigmatized for life as a criminal. If Nixon is forced from office and immediately pardoned for all the crimes he "committed or may have committed," let's put that all aside and look on the bright side, while we visit his Presidential Library in Yorba Linda. Yes, Nixon was "remarkable people," but not in the way you are presenting him.

Relax on the golf tactic... It's a tried and true political ploy. Hey, go play some golf.

And I’m fine with Nixon. The Watergate scandal is small potatoes compared to his accomplishments. He ended the US involvement in Vietnam by 1973, launched initiatives to fight cancer and illegal drugs, imposed wage and price controls, enforced desegregation of Southern schools, introduced legislation to reform healthcare and welfare, opened diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China in 1972 and ushered in a new era of Sino-American relations, and initiated détente with the Soviet Union in the wake of his diplomacy with China, leading to SALT I and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.

What I really didn’t like is he established the Environmental Protection Agency, and I’m not all that keen on him to some extent because he also established the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and signed into law the Clean Air Act and National Environmental Policy Act. More damaging to the country than Watergate IMO.

But why detest Nixon? Was is because he did something wrong in allowing himself to get involved after the fact in the Watergate break in cover up? And political parties spying on each other in similar fashion was standard I understand, just the Republicans hired guys to do the deed that were idiots. And if that is the standard, then Bill Clinton should be detested for lying under oath to Congress. Detest George W Bush for taking us into war on shaky intelligence. And detest Barack Obama for lying to the general public right before his election for the cover up for failures of duty by his State Department by blaming a coordinated terrorist attack, which resulted in the deaths of 4 people in our consulate including our Ambassador, by blaming it on some obscure video (isn’t the guy that made the video still rotting away in prison?). And be sure to detest Hillary Clinton if she runs because she may soon face Federal charges for tampering with and destroying evidence. According to a credible whistleblower, Hillary's aids might just have been involved with the removal of documents that could be politically damaging to her from the Benghazi tragedy, before the State Department turned any documents over to an independent committee that was investigating the attacks. Doesn’t surprise me if you haven’t heard much of that. Alas, where are the Woodward and Bernstein’s of today. As a matter of fact, where IS Woodward and Bernstein?

Or is it because he got caught and would have been prosecuted? Which I’m sure served as a guide for future presidents on how not to get caught in their shenanigans and to not allow wrongdoing escalate too far.

Or is it because he resigned? Well can’t argue that one. The only honorable thing to do. And his pardon history has shown, as I recall reading even from his detractors of the time, was the right thing to do for the country.

Black Swan

Amerika wrote: »

Or is it because he got caught and would have been prosecuted? Which I’m sure served as a guide for future presidents on how not to get caught in their shenanigans and to not allow wrongdoing escalate too far.

It's the double standard allowed many US politicians in high office (like Nixon) with a pardon by Gerald Ford for all the crimes he “committed or may have committed” while in office, when common citizen "Joe the Plumber" gets caught, convicted, and goes to prison (while Nixon attends to the books, papers, and flowers at his Yorba Linda presidential library in sunny Southern California).

The forgetfulness of the US voter is truly a phenomenon where "absence makes the heart grow fonder" for Nixon, while common citizens that break the laws are stigmatized as ex-cons and trashed forever, even if they attempt to later clean up their act. Political leaders are to be examples of law abiding citizens, and are accorded TRUST, power, influence, and benefits of office accordingly, and therefore should not be above the law, or be allowed one free stay-out-of-jail card (Ford pardon) if they break it. This sends the wrong message to persons in high office, in that they can break laws, so long as they don't get caught; and if they do, their risk may be less than what befalls the common citizen. If the common citizen is negatively stigmatized for breaking laws, then so should Nixon.

eire4

Manach wrote: »

Actually the noted intellectual BBC correspondent for America,Alistiar Cooke, had high praise for American football, describing it as an open-air chess game and the most scientific of all outdoor games. Hence linking this to the US election system perhaps does a disservice to the sport. Perhaps a closer analogy being the WWF; the outlandish positions, the overwhelming hype and that it is all worked who wins by other interests.

Haha I must say I got a good laugh out of your WWF analogy. Sadly given how broken the US election system is the analogy is all too apt.