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You probably didn’t notice, but last week was the first time in 32 consecutive issues of the Graphic that my Random Thoughts did not appear. Quite shocking and tragic I know, but fear not, they are back.
• Before I share my first thought, let me just say that I will be voting for John Kerry in November because I think he will do a better job than President Bush.
However, having said that, I can’t help feeling that I voted for the wrong man back in February’s Arizona primary. I should have voted for the person I genuinely liked the best, instead of the person who I thought had the most experience for the job and who appeared to have the best chance of defeating President Bush. I shouldn’t have cast my primary vote for John Kerry; I should’ve gone with his vice presidential candidate, John Edwards.
As I watch in dismay as my candidate fumbles the ball more frequently than the Indianapolis Colts in Week 1, I can’t help but think that when it comes to presidential races, national experience means diddly-squat. Instead, someone with good ideas, a fresh attitude and a clean slate (definitely Edwards) is a much better choice. In fact, being an outsider seems to help – just look at the last 50 years of presidents, many of whom were governors, one was a general and another a one-term senator (Kennedy).
Sure, the Republicans could have nailed Edwards with accusations of inexperience (although six years of being Texas governor is hardly what one would call experience), but it would be hard to sell attacks on his charisma, his family values, his background and the fact that the Vietnam War was coming to a close when he turned 18. Oh, and he’s an excellent speaker, unlike Kerry and Bush.
Kerry just seems to be clinging to his Vietnam past – something I couldn’t have cared less about beyond a general respect for veterans – and not pointing out the good things about his legislative past. Meanwhile, the Republicans hammer away at what they call “flip-flop” tendencies and Kerry’s so-called indecisiveness. (However, just because somebody thinks things through, unlike the current administration, doesn’t make him indecisive.)
Perhaps the coming weeks and upcoming debates can give Kerry a boost, but the Democratic candidate must step up to the plate and show the American people why most Democrats gave him the nomination in the first place: he can beat President Bush. However, if things keep going like they are, I have a feeling that come Nov. 3, I will regret not going with the genuinely good guy and historically safe rookie, John Edwards. Hopefully I’m just jumping the gun, but ultimately this doesn’t matter — I’ll still be voting for Kerry no matter on Election Day.
• Now onto much more important matters. Because I’ve been told baseball has been mentioned too frequently in this section, I shall take a second to discuss hockey. As many of you probably don’t know, the National Hockey League locked its players out last week halting play indefinitely.
The principle problem is that hockey players want to be paid at NFL prices, but the owners and league recognize that the NHL is about 1/134th as popular as the mightiest sports league in North America. Now, venture north to Canada as I did this summer, and one gets the impression that hockey lies somewhere in between air and water in terms of importance to Canadians. However, with the exception of maybe 10 American cities, nobody gives a flying puck about hockey in the States. Hence the problem.
Sure, Toronto and Detroit with their gazillions of dollars can afford to pump out millions to players, but lowly Nashville, Atlanta, Carolina and all the other teams below the Frost Belt that shouldn’t have franchises are stuck with low payrolls and even lower popularity to feed those payrolls.
The hockey players must recognize this and for the sake of the game give a little or they’ll soon be looking for work in the Swedish national league. Mind you, eliminating some if not all of those southern NHL teams wouldn’t hurt, either. Until then, the hockey season will be on hold, and that loud moaning sound you hear coming from the north will be the sound of 30 million Canadians going through withdrawal.
• Finally, Britney Spears got married this week — although it’s possible by the time this goes to print, she will already be divorced from Kevin “Yes it does look like I work at a Texaco” Federline. Two years ago, many young men like myself would have been disappointed by this news. But after marrying Dirtball No. 1, Jason Alexander (not the George Costanza one, although that would be a step up), and now Dirtball No. 2, Britney is losing her attraction faster than a Pepperdine advertising graduate. And frankly, if that attraction goes, all she’ll have to fall back on is her “singing” voice and potential acting ability. She’d better get ready to switch her role model from Madonna to Farah Fawcett.
Submitted 09-23-20044
MALIBU, CA
