"At this point, I would vote for an untrained monkey," a friend of mine recently said, in reference to the upcoming presidential election. That's the way I feel at this point, and I am from Massachusetts.
This year's campaign is a disaster. On one hand, President Bush offers only a great vision, with no details and lots of window dressing, and on other hand, John Kerry offers great ideas, but can't get out of his own way to explain them.
Both candidates are likable guys, but neither has the capacity to be president for various reasons. Both candidates have major personality flaws. Kerry has the energy of a wino, and Bush behaves like a raging bull in a china shop that is trying to break everything.
Also, despite overwhelming evidence that Americans hate negative politics, both candidates have sunken to a new low. The Swift Boat Veterans For Truth, who have attacked Kerry on his Vietnam War record, are a defacto arm of the Bush machine despite their unproven links to the Bush campaign. On the opposite side, Kerry lacked the gall to stand up for himself immediately after the attacks began; only recently has he fought back.
Something is wrong when, at any point during the day, I can't turn on the television and watch coverage about the real issues facing Americans, especially college students, because we are being barraged by the CBS News false documents non-story, and the Swift Boat group non-story. I ask everybody: If you had the chance to duck out from Vietnam, honestly, would you take it? I would for sure, nobody wants to go to an unpopular war in a far-off land.
Did anybody see that Bush proposed to alter the Pell grants program so students can use them for summer classes? I only found out by logging onto a newswire.
The blame also lies with partisan groups such as the College Republicans and the College Democrats. Those groups are institutionally devoted to an ideology rather than practicality, and therefore make clear-thinking debates impossible.
Lastly, one of the worst parts of the campaign has been the promises that are only full of hot air. During the Republican National Convention, Bush said, "I will never relent in defending America - whatever it takes."
On the other hand, Kerry said at the Democratic National Convention, "I will send a message to every man and woman in our armed forces: You will never be asked to fight a war without a plan to win the peace." Both candidates could not have strayed further from the truth with these statements. Bush is relenting in defending America by his choice to topple a regime that a stiff wind could blow over and has no bearing on terrorism. On the other hand, Kerry has strayed by giving the president permission, through a Congress vote, to invade Iraq, without a post-war action plan. I'm writing in Colin Powell on Nov. 2nd.
Ryan Grannan-Doll is a sophomore in the School of International Service and The Eagle's assistant national news editor.
