The Politics of Acting
Why did we have to sit through the closest presidential election ever? The answer is simple; personality. It no longer has to do with being a Democrat or Republican. Neither Bush nor Gore had the charisma or charm to make us care about either one of them. It came down to the beliefs of the candidates, and nobody in America wants to choose a president based on their beliefs. What the general public wants is someone to stand in front of them and say, “Everything is going to be okay.”
This is why Ronald Reagan was so popular. He was an actor, not a lawyer or businessman. He could pretend to be whatever he needed, and he did it well. Old Ronny would stand up there and speak while the masses stood there like the filth covered, comical, western sidekick saying “dang nab it, he’s right”. The funny thing was, the country had a pride about it that had been missing since Watergate.
Clinton was a different kind of actor. He was the player. The man would make a speech and when he was done, there would be the country, laying on the bed covering itself in a sheet pleading after him: “call me”. But the problem with this type of person is eventually they get caught. And it’s never the action that’s the true problem; it’s the loss of trust. Bill got himself a hummer in the white house from an intern. Overall my thought is… good for him. If I were president, I’d probably have interns lined up around the block with cigars and kneepads. But when he was asked if it was true, he lied, badly. “What is your definition of the word ‘IS’?” Just to ask that question you have to know the definition of the word ‘IS’.
But I digress. Ronny was a good actor and he stroked the fires of patriotism. Bill was a smooth operator and told us what we wanted to hear. Bush and Gore just gave us that ‘we got to the whorehouse late and all the good girls were gone’ feeling. Don’t get me wrong, I think Bush has done a good job of dealing with the 9/11 disaster and he’s surrounded himself with some very bright people. But I can’t watch him make a speech; it’s just painful. And if the Democratic Party wants to take the oval office back in the next election, they would be better off running Alec Baldwin then anyone currently holding office.
The bottom line here is this: It’s obvious that no one man makes a country. Our politicians have moved from being the thinkers to being figureheads. The person most likely to be elected isn’t the smartest or best qualified; he’s the one who makes us feel good about ourselves. That’s why I’m predicting here and now that the next Mayor of Los Angeles will be Ervin ‘Magic’ Johnson. He may not know politics or have a good speech pattern… but damn it, he brought the people of L.A. a championship and he can do it again as mayor. Okay, I really have no idea how Magic would be as a mayor, but I have a feeling that we will find out very soon…. Look here to see what I mean.
Why did we have to sit through the closest presidential election ever? The answer is simple; personality. It no longer has to do with being a Democrat or Republican. Neither Bush nor Gore had the charisma or charm to make us care about either one of them. It came down to the beliefs of the candidates, and nobody in America wants to choose a president based on their beliefs. What the general public wants is someone to stand in front of them and say, “Everything is going to be okay.”
This is why Ronald Reagan was so popular. He was an actor, not a lawyer or businessman. He could pretend to be whatever he needed, and he did it well. Old Ronny would stand up there and speak while the masses stood there like the filth covered, comical, western sidekick saying “dang nab it, he’s right”. The funny thing was, the country had a pride about it that had been missing since Watergate.
Clinton was a different kind of actor. He was the player. The man would make a speech and when he was done, there would be the country, laying on the bed covering itself in a sheet pleading after him: “call me”. But the problem with this type of person is eventually they get caught. And it’s never the action that’s the true problem; it’s the loss of trust. Bill got himself a hummer in the white house from an intern. Overall my thought is… good for him. If I were president, I’d probably have interns lined up around the block with cigars and kneepads. But when he was asked if it was true, he lied, badly. “What is your definition of the word ‘IS’?” Just to ask that question you have to know the definition of the word ‘IS’.
But I digress. Ronny was a good actor and he stroked the fires of patriotism. Bill was a smooth operator and told us what we wanted to hear. Bush and Gore just gave us that ‘we got to the whorehouse late and all the good girls were gone’ feeling. Don’t get me wrong, I think Bush has done a good job of dealing with the 9/11 disaster and he’s surrounded himself with some very bright people. But I can’t watch him make a speech; it’s just painful. And if the Democratic Party wants to take the oval office back in the next election, they would be better off running Alec Baldwin then anyone currently holding office.
The bottom line here is this: It’s obvious that no one man makes a country. Our politicians have moved from being the thinkers to being figureheads. The person most likely to be elected isn’t the smartest or best qualified; he’s the one who makes us feel good about ourselves. That’s why I’m predicting here and now that the next Mayor of Los Angeles will be Ervin ‘Magic’ Johnson. He may not know politics or have a good speech pattern… but damn it, he brought the people of L.A. a championship and he can do it again as mayor. Okay, I really have no idea how Magic would be as a mayor, but I have a feeling that we will find out very soon…. Look here to see what I mean.
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