SI
SI
discoversearch

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor.  We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community.  If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.
Pastimes : My Opinion, Your Opinion, and ... What If ... ?
 Public ReplyPrvt ReplyMark as Last ReadFilePrevious 10Next 10PreviousNext  
From: bruwin11/5/2008 12:51:33 PM
  Read Replies (1) of 27
 
They only look as if they inhabit our galaxy.
In truth, the men who would be President have been running for months in a parallel universe, a place where a Chief Executive changes laws by waving a hand and reorders society at the stroke of a pen.

"When I am President," the candidates declare ... and off they go into dream speak, describing tax codes down to the last decimal point and sketching health-care reforms far beyond the power of any single person to enact.

In their imaginary, reassuring cosmos, America is always a mere 10 years — and one new President — away from energy independence. And the ills of the federal budget can be cured simply by having an eagle-eyed leader go through it line by line.

Then one of them wins the election.

In an instant, the winner is sucked through a wormhole back into the real world.
A world in which Congress, not the President, writes all the laws and gets the last word on the budget.
Where consumers decide which cars to drive and how many lights to burn. And where the clash of powerful interest groups makes it easier to do nothing about big problems than to tackle them.

Even the strongest, wiliest, most effective Presidents must change shape and shift direction to accommodate these and other forces. An ability to alter course without losing one's way is essential to presidential success.

"I claim not to have controlled events," Abraham Lincoln wrote, "but confess plainly that events have controlled me."

The above is courtesy of David Von Drehle of TIME.

Personally, I'd say the above was relevant to many previous presidential elections.
The question is whether or not will it be relevant to now and the near future.

I was impressed and somewhat moved by what Obama said to the Chicago crowd after his victory was confirmed.
Primarily because of the reaction that was evident on so many faces in that crowd.
Obama was saying what so many of them wanted to hear. They also seemed to reflect their trust in him.
If he does nothing else during his term, let's hope that Obama never betrays that trust.
Report TOU ViolationShare This Post
 Public ReplyPrvt ReplyMark as Last ReadFilePrevious 10Next 10PreviousNext  

HomeMailHotSubjectMarksPeopleMarksKeepersSettings
Terms Of UseContact UsCopyright/IP PolicyPrivacy PolicyAbout UsFAQAdvertise on SI
© 2025 Knight Sac Media.  Data provided by Twelve Data, Alpha Vantage, and CityFALCON News