There are some axioms of US politics which most voters refuse to recognize. I suspect most voters know them deep down inside but refuse to act as if they do. Instead they act like politics works according to their dream, not they way it does. Truths:
1. The President cannot solve all your problems. He isn't king, only President. Congress can and will tell him to go **** himself. It will be their health care plan, not his and so forth.
2. The President has almost nothing to do with things like crime and local education. State and local governments do this. If you don't like it see your city council, not the Prez.
3. Government has a lot less to do with the short-term economy than you think. If you don't like the past few years but liked the few years before that, don't look at the government. See JP Morgan or Boeing or Microsoft. Or the Kuwati or Chinese business. But the government has a lot to do with the long-term impact on the economy. Over decades people and businesses go to the best place. They put their new steel plant in Alabama; they close their auto plant in Michigan. They create eBay in the US; they don't create **** in France. Over the short term they can't do much. You want a government which attracts production, not one which runs it off.
4. Much of the President's power is the power of appointment. (Foreign policy is the big exception.) He doesn't run the student loan program in Marfa, the agriculture program in Dime Box, the housing program in Houston or the space shuttle program in my town. He makes a zillion appointments and they run things. He doesn't know these people or control them. He gets handed lists by party bigwigs in Marfa and Dime Box and he pays off political debts. You know what debts each candidate has. Choose accordingly. The President will not make policy. Not much of it. Thousands of appointees will. One set belongs to the insurance industry, the other to the trial lawyers. One set belongs to the econuts, the other to Big Oil. There are about twenty-five sets and you all know what they are. A candidate can't change the teams very easily and the thousands of players don't march to his command. You get Team A or Team B regardless of candidate and his pretty speeches.
1. The President cannot solve all your problems. He isn't king, only President. Congress can and will tell him to go **** himself. It will be their health care plan, not his and so forth.
2. The President has almost nothing to do with things like crime and local education. State and local governments do this. If you don't like it see your city council, not the Prez.
3. Government has a lot less to do with the short-term economy than you think. If you don't like the past few years but liked the few years before that, don't look at the government. See JP Morgan or Boeing or Microsoft. Or the Kuwati or Chinese business. But the government has a lot to do with the long-term impact on the economy. Over decades people and businesses go to the best place. They put their new steel plant in Alabama; they close their auto plant in Michigan. They create eBay in the US; they don't create **** in France. Over the short term they can't do much. You want a government which attracts production, not one which runs it off.
4. Much of the President's power is the power of appointment. (Foreign policy is the big exception.) He doesn't run the student loan program in Marfa, the agriculture program in Dime Box, the housing program in Houston or the space shuttle program in my town. He makes a zillion appointments and they run things. He doesn't know these people or control them. He gets handed lists by party bigwigs in Marfa and Dime Box and he pays off political debts. You know what debts each candidate has. Choose accordingly. The President will not make policy. Not much of it. Thousands of appointees will. One set belongs to the insurance industry, the other to the trial lawyers. One set belongs to the econuts, the other to Big Oil. There are about twenty-five sets and you all know what they are. A candidate can't change the teams very easily and the thousands of players don't march to his command. You get Team A or Team B regardless of candidate and his pretty speeches.
