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Anonymous Hero,

Don't get me wrong, I love baseball about just as much as anyone I know. But really, was the steroid issue in sports the bigger American crisis that needed congressional attention and money, more so than the current energy crisis?

Am I mad that Clemens and Bonds and Petit and whoever else used HGH and roids? Hell yes. But not as mad as I am every time I pull into a gas station and watch my paycheck evaporate more quickly than it did the week before.

Can we please get a little re-prioritizing at the Congressional level, PLEASE!

"Can we please get a little re-prioritizing at the Congressional level, PLEASE!"

In a word, NO. But we can vote the rascals out, vote some new rascals in, and see if the old head-on-a-pike-at-the-gate ploy still works. Metaphorically speaking, of course. I'd never advocate that as a real scenario. (Would I?) _{Still, it could have merit...hmmm...}

I hate to be a pessimist, but the U.S. looks more like The Roman Empire at the end of its run with every passing year.

There was a time when serving your country as a political leader was both an honor and an expectation of the most brilliant minds available. Now, maybe because of the media and because of cynicism (mostly deserved, IMO), those minds are going into industry instead and making a pile. Is it avoiding the snake pit that is politics, or does politics just not bring the money that private industry really can? Has materialism made the gifted eschew their civic duties?

Some say who wants the headache of being in political office? The never ending microscope you have to live under? The problem is that we are just getting more and more people in government who don't have the credentials to live under the microscope any more than any of the rest of the public. They are just better at hiding their skeletons so we are ever more suspicious.

Sometimes I wish we would have a candidate that says, "Yeah, I smoked pot in college and skipped classes until I realized how much it was going to wreck my life if I didn't pull my act together. No silver spoon, no trust fund, and I plan to assemble some brilliant minds in a cabinet because for some of the issues we have, any of the proposed ideas don't make sense or don't seem to work. No, I don't know what exactly we are going to do about it, but I am going to try my hardest to fix what is wrong and keep strong what is not." That type of leader who just says when he or she isn't sure what the right plan is, but that they are planning on doing whatever it takes to get it right. And ADMIT WHEN THEY MADE A MISTAKE.

You are right. In a word...no. I don't know why today that just makes me angry.

1. There's no use being a pessimist - hell, it probably wouldn't help anyway.

2. The original theory was politics would be a pause in the career of a civic minded citizen who would serve for awhile, then go home. Nowadays, it IS home...

3. You just said all the things I would vote for in a candidate - what office are you running for? Not only would you get MY vote on that platform, I'd even be a campaign organizer for you! So long as you plan to go home when it's over...

4. You're entitled to be angry over the corruption of our system of governance.

Pessimism as an ideology is what idlers do instead of getting off their cans to fix the problem. That's why I try to avoid it as much as possible. It's an overused statement, but it's that whole, "If you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem" ideal.

And you are spot on about how being a lifelong politician is counterproductive. It creates stagnancy and fosters the notion that most people have or ever can have no real chance at becoming a political leader. Heck, there isn't even much of a chance of them even getting a real say in the direction of their own government.

As much as I didn't care for LBJ, if we just had someone who really lived "the buck stops here" mentality, stopped the lying, had a sense of humor, believed in character and integrity and just admitted when he or she didn't live up to that belief (as we all have done things we are less than proud of), I think middle America would go beserk for him or her.

Maybe it is just too much to ask. And as for me running for political office? Not unless I could stop doing everything else because I think it requires that singular focus and as of right now, I think I love teaching too much to leave. Maybe once I break 40, I can throw my hat in the ring.

So don't go anywhere. I may very well be calling on you for campaign organizer duties in the 2016 election!

I think it was Harry Truman that said, "The buck stops here." Actually, it was a sign on his desk.

I don't believe that it would be as simple as possessing the qualities you expressed to get into the Oval Office. First, the media runs a tilted playing field and you will be running an uphill campaign if you do not become their darling, which would mean compromising the very things you want to embrace in a candidate. Second, you need cash and lots of it. So much so that it boggles the mind what a campaign really costs. Third, you need to be good looking. So many people simply vote on how good a candidate looks (or talks). You would be stunned if you knew how many people don't have a clue what "their" candidate really stands for. Fourth, you have to have charisma. That's an intangible attribute and not many people have it. Last, you need to demonstrate some form of leadership, but I don't think that is as critical as the others. At least not when you listen to what people think is important to their choice in a candidate.

I don't think the whole idea of elections would be such a big problem, except, that most people really put next to nothing into the process of researching what the candidates stand for. People put no time into the process. They hear a few commercials, see a few signs, listen to a few like-minded friends (group-think), and pull the lever.

If the amount of effort we put into selecting a candidate is nil, then we really have no reason to complain about the outcome, do we?

Then forget what I said about LBJ. Harry Truman it is (I like Gary Sinese, anyway).

Good looking and charismatic. We'll, I've got those...but I digress.

Wait, George Bush (pick either) was charismatic and good looking? I think there is something else that is more concrete in terms of who gets in and who doesn't and it goes beyond looks and charisma (although that helps). It also depends if we are talking the Oval Office or Congress. Look at the mugs of some of our presidents. You are telling me that Nixon and Eisenhower got in because of their centerfold abilities. Obviously I am oversimplifying it. I think good looks and charisma will get you up the ladder, but it takes something else to get you into the Oval Office.

That was actually the point of my original post (about general politics, that is) is really close to where you are at: that we don't live in a democracy. We live in an aristrocracy and we are fools if we really think otherwise. I know that Clinton had some "aw shucks" roots to him, but the reason that our politicians are out of touch with us is that they really are no longer "of the people".

And most of those that the middle class could put forth would be crucified by the media because he or she would not, as you accurately stated, have the finances to mount a serious campaign politically, much less with the added P.R. campaign one needs to sweet deal the new outlets to avoid be a pariah or a waco.

The media loves its ruling class and you are right when you say that most Americans take more time deciding if they want fries with that than picking who will run the country.

At the risk of making this a political discussion, if Reagan hadn't dismantled all of the aternative energy programs that Carter had set into motion maybe we wouldn't be as reliant on oil today. Furthermore, as recently as 8 years ago many Republicans were just as opposed to offshore drilling as the Democrats (case in point John McCain).

Good Answer Taganan.

We as engineers and scientists need to be above all the political foolishness and infighting.

We should make it our goal to take the "next step" so to speak in energy production.

Or perhaps make our own political party.

Cordially Dragon