They say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. So why is it the American people allow our politicians to do the same things over and over and we believe them and expect results different from previous elections ?
I've looked at the websites of current and previous candidates to get an understanding of their platforms. They all have positions, some of which I agree with , some of which I don't. But there is one thing that is missing from each and everyone of them, any manner of implementation. Health care, spending cuts, retaining or repealing tax cuts, keeping or removing troops, the soundbites with pretty numbers never end. Not a single candidate provides details on how exactly they are going to accomplish anything. Don't they realize that economists exists to make lottery ticket buyers look smart, not presidential candidates ?
It reminds me of business plans I get from kids who tell me about their vision and project all kinds of numbers leading to grand results. They can site historical facts and figures, but when it comes time to get into details of exactly how they are going to execute on their plans, the response is basically that they will figure it out as they go. I wouldn't invest in a business that is winging it any more than I want to vote for a presidential candidate that is winging it.
Unfortunately , they are all winging it. i have no question that they have every detail about how to spend their campaign contributions on advertising planned out. I have yet to see details on how they plan to accomplish all their great promises they are making to voters. That scares me.
It also scares me that despite claims of not being an "insider" or wanting a different vision for America, every remaining candidate spends more energy campaigning to their party than to the issues. I got sick watching Clinton and Barack argue about who was less of a "Reaganite" during one of their few lively debate exchanges.
I actually started to get a little bit excited about McCain. Then he went on the warpath to "mend his riff" with the Republican Party. I can only speak for myself, but the fact that he had a "riff" with the Republicans is exactly why i started to get excited about him. No, he hadn't presented any more details on his plans than any other candidate, but there was a glimmer of hope that he was a candidate that thought for himself.
(And before all the comments start, Ron Paul is the worse of all the candidates when it comes to detailing how he would execute on his promises. Just saying you are going to cut and eliminate everything doesn't mean you know how to do it and/or could get it done.)
So here we are, our country has the same problem we have every four years, our remaining candidates are politicians. They know how to spend other people's money. They know how to assign responsibility to someone else. They know how to beg for other people's money. They know how to campaign, schmooze and kiss babies. They have no earthly idea how to accomplish any of their promises.
So here is my hope. My hope is that the entire primary process is just the preseason. That its nothing more than an expensive introduction to the Republican and Democratic candidates and once they have picked their winner, a wealthy individual will nominate them self to compete with the 2 parties and run for President.
Are you listening Mayor Bloomberg ? For less than the cost of opening a tent pole movie, you can change the status quo . I'm not saying that I'm going to vote for you yet. As I said above, the devil is in the details. But, I'm betting that unlike the current choices, you recognize the difference between politics and results.
My Presidential Endorsement:
Reader Comments
(Page 1)2. Thank, God! I'm so glad someone finally said it and, of course, I'm not surprised it's you, Mark.
This is the very reason there are so many disenfranchised voters in this country (myself included). Year after year, all we get are a bunch of rich people who, as you said, know how to spend other people's money, and never people who know how to present and execute their "business plan" for America. Now, do we need a business(wo)man to be president to regain our footing? No, I don't think so. But we do need a person in the White House that not only has a ideas (we all have those), but an itemized and actionable plan for how to get there? Well, yeah.
It's just like anything else. You want to get the Mavs to the Finals. You don't just sign this player and that player and expect to get there. You evaluate, you weigh, and you consider how a player will gel/fit with the current team and its flow in order to achieve your desired result. Then you explain to your fans (constituents) why it is that this decision will be good for the team and for them.
I'm not sure what will wake these people up, but we need to figure out what that is and make it happen because I, for one, cannot stand the current crop of presidential hopefuls we have and don't care to vote for a single one of them.
3. Bloomberg has often said that he'll only enter the race if a high enough percentage of likely voters are dissatisfied with both parties.
The platform shared by Obama and Clinton has been enough to energize the Democrats into being content with the two party system again, but there are a lot of anti-McCain Republicans who want to vote for someone who'll be more conservative when it comes to immigration and economic policies. So Bloomberg is still considering entering, I'm sure.
I don't think Bloomberg will enter, but I would love it if he did. He would also be the only technocrat candidate now that Romney is out, which most who read this blog would like to see.
Posted at 6:39PM on Feb 8th 2008 by Keith Peffer
4. You got the money Mark, how bout you being that 3rd candidate? You'll get my vote.
Posted at 6:46PM on Feb 8th 2008 by Terry Kearns
5. Mark, I love your blog, I love what you've done for basketball, I love what you've done in every single arena you've entered. I rarely ever comment on any blogs, but this is so spot on and true. Thank you so much for writing this.
And thank you even more for endorsing Mike Bloomberg. A man for results gets my vote.
Posted at 7:21PM on Feb 8th 2008 by Sandeep Pahuja
6. REV DR KAMAL KARNA KARUNA ROY , A F E C WASHINTON DC REGISTERE REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFUL / CANDIDATE FOR U S PRESIDENT ELECTORAL COMPETITION PURSUANT TO U S CONSTITUTION AND U S AND STATE LAWS OF ALL STATES IN USA AND U S CONTROLLEDTERRITORIES,( SEE VOTE SMART ORG AND OTHER WEBSITES GOOGLE YAHOO BLOGS, WIKIPDIA ENCYOPEDIA ET EL WORLDWIDE TO CONFIRM CANDIDACY OF kAMAL K K ROY AS A CANDIDATE; DR ROY SAID HE WAS NOT A QUITTER TO HIS EFFORTS TO BE PRESIDENT_ THE REV DR KAAL KARNA ROY OR USA AND HE WILL LAWFULLY FIGHT TO BE NOMINATED AS REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE IN LEGAL BALLOT OF GENERAL ELECTION HE COURT ORDER OF INJUNCTION TO COURT ORDER TO POSTPONE U S PRESIDENT ELECTION IS NOT SECURED ALTHOUGH IN THREE USDC JURISDICTION CIVIL COMPLAINT AND MOTIONS ERE FILED FOR SAME PRAYERS BY DR KAMAL ROY FORSELF AND UNINCORPORATED SMALL POVERTY STRIKENED AND STARVING ASSOCN WHEREIN KAMAL IS AN VOLUNTEER EXECUTIVE, AND HE IS ELIGIBLE TO LAWFULLY ASSOCIATE AND ACT PURSUANT TO 1ST AMENDMENT OF U S CONSTITUTION & FRCP RULES TO ACT PRO SE. SEE FEDERAL JUSTIA DOCKET FILING ABOUT PRAYERS OF INJUNCTION TO USA ET AL,INCLUDING OBAMA, HILLARY, MC CAIN ET AL AS CANDIDATES, FEC, , U S AMERICAN GOD/S OF RELIGIONS, ALL RELIGIONS ET AL , INCLUDED AS 350+ DEFENDANTS . DR ROY THE CANDIDATE , US PRESIDENCY 2008 SCHEDULED GENERAL ELECTION FILED PETITIONS IN NEW JERSEY USDC JURISDITION, USDC NDOF CALIFORNIA , SANFRANSCISCO, CA JURISDICTION AND USDC NEW HAMPSHIRE DISTRICT AT CONCORD JURISDICTIONS FOR ELECTORAL VIOOLATIONS IN DISTRICTS, KAMAL BEING MOBILE CLERGY IN THE JURISDICTIONS WHEIN VIOLATIONS OCCURED AND STILL CONTINUING, AND KAMAL WAS PAINED, WAS DAMAGED DUE TOHARMS SUSTAINED; USA IS BEING A COMMON DEFENDANT SUCH PRORATA DAMAGE CLAIMS IN USDC DIVERSE JURISDICTION ARE VALID AND CONVENIENT, OVER US TRILLIONS OF & WERE DEMANDED IN DAMAGES IN EACH JURISDICTION , AS THE DAMAGES WERE OVER SKY HIGH UPTO MILLION MILES AWAY FROM EARTH AND THE PANETS' SKY HIGH AS PAINS SUSTAIN BY KAMAL FOR NEGLECT, ABUSES ON HIM AS A LAWFUL CANDIDATE IN USA WAS ASSESSED AS EQUIVALENT TO DEATH OF A U S PATRIOT, EVEN AS SMALL AS THE CANDIATE KAMAL. JURY WAS INTENDED TO DECIDE AWARD AS THEY ARE MORE COMPETENT ON GRANT OF AWARDS FOR PAINS, HARMS AND SUFFERINGS AS THEY BELONG AS UNITS OF WE THE PEOPLE OF USA. iSSUED BY THE REVEREND MS GARGI R LAHIRI , EXECUTIVE ADVISOR OF DR KAMAL ROY CAMPAIGN AND ASST TREASURER & RV MS PAROMITA ROY bAIDYA OF SAME CAPACITY IN LAWS IN ELECTION AND MESSAGE WAS 100% APPROVED BY CANDIDATE KAMAL K K ROY SEEKING US PRESIDENT'S JOB 2008.
Posted at 7:32PM on Feb 8th 2008 by THE REV. DR KAMAL KARNA KARUNA ROY AKA JOSEPH JR
7. The good Rev Dr needs to take a laxative.
Bloomberg seems interesting. Will be fun to watch. Not as much fun as reading those comments by The Rev Dr, but fun nonetheless. :)
Posted at 7:47PM on Feb 8th 2008 by Daniel Holter
8. You make some very good points Mark.
But we must consider the process here. Politicians are addressing the masses here....The masses are not interested in details...nor would they understand them.
All of the politicians (with the exception of Ron Paul) are making promises on what they are going to "give" to their voters. Free this...Free that...
Ron Paul, on the other hand, is not promising other people's property, but only to leave you alone and most importantly follow the law..i.e., the U.S. Constitution.
Yes, he wants to cut government waste, but he specifically says that he plans on going after the Trillion dollars spent overseas...That is his immediate target, and he says it all the time.
I would look into Ron Paul a little closer Mark...when it comes to understanding economics, monetary policy, and foreign policy, no one can touch him.
Posted at 7:53PM on Feb 8th 2008 by Chris
9. What an original idea! A sucessful, independent thinking business person to run the largest national economy in the world. Thank goodness you said it Mark...no one seems to listen when the rest of us do. Much appreciated.
Signed...a former Motley's fan. (you're probably sick of that reference but for some of us it still inspires given your entire body of work)
All the best,
Greg/Indianapolis
10. The problem with democracy is politicians have to spend more time trying to get and stay elected than on affecting real change.
The problem with America is voters that generally don't care about details or abilities so much as personality and who's going to do best by them as individuals rather than us as a country.
The problem with government is that the challenges alone it faces are dauntingly complex yet that pails in comparison to the arcane and inane rules and regulations generations of a broken system have produced.
I have hope that once in power both Obama and McCain will have the strength of spirit to champion real change and true reform, though given the tacts they've taken in order to get elected I can't say my hopes are as high as they could be.
And electing a billionaire mayor just cause he's from outside the system doesn't necessarily seem like the answer to our prayers, though I will admit I know less about his stance on issues than Obama's...and that's saying something.
Posted at 8:15PM on Feb 8th 2008 by Geoff Daily
11. You know, Mitt Romney has a lot more political experience and spent a crapload of money and nobody took him seriously either. Why would Bloomberg want to waste money the same way?
Posted at 8:34PM on Feb 8th 2008 by dbt
12. Here is the skinney on the Good Dr.:
Residence United States
Other names Rev Dr Joseph Geronimo, Jr.
Kamal K. K. Roy
Kamal Karna Roy (also known as Kamal K.K. Roy and Rev. Dr. Joseph Geronimo, Jr.) is a prolific pro se litigant who, since at least the early 1990s, has filed numerous lawsuits throughout the United States and its territories under the names Roy and Joseph Geronimo, Jr., as well as under the names of entities that he is affiliated with, including International Siva Consciousness & World Religions, Reforms International, Handicap Interests International, and Jungle Democracy.[1] Roy's lawsuits are often brought against multiple defendants, and feature long, unconventional complaints. Roy has filed lawsuits against God, U.S. Presidents, Supreme Court Justices, fast food restaurants, foreign leaders.[2], and Wikipedia [3] [4].
Roy's lawsuits have addressed, among many other things, actions taken by President George W. Bush, overcharging by telecommunication companies, the appointment of Chief Justice John Roberts to the Supreme Court, and "failure of democratic societies and God's role therein."[5] In 2006 Judge Michael W. McConnell of The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit described a typical Roy complaint:
Roy, a/k/a Joseph Geronimo, Jr. filed a 115-page complaint, a 144-page amended complaint, and a 40-page second amended complaint against over sixty defendants, including among many others President Bush, God as U.S.-based divine benefactor, several government agencies, The New York Times, and Kentucky Fried Chicken. In addition to pages of rambling discourse, the complaint contains numerous illegible handwritten remarks.[6]
The Tenth Circuit went on to affirm the district court's dismissal of the complaint holding that no discernible claim was apparent from the complaint. Judge McConnell also humorously noted that the court "strongly suspect[ed] at least one defendant was not properly served."[7]
Most, if not all, of Roy's complaints have been dismissed. A 2006 United States District Court for the District of Delaware opinion, Jungle Democracy v. U.S., describes Roy as "no stranger to litigation" and provides a partial list of Roy lawsuits that have been dismissed since 1991.[8]
Despite Roy's lack of success in the courts, his lawsuits have been discussed in law school classrooms and in law related blogs.[9] [10]
In April 2007 Roy filed a civil rights action against, among others, CBS Broadcasting Inc., MSNBC, the United States Government, and controversial radio shock jock Don Imus.[11]
In October 2007, Roy filed a suit in the US District Court, Middle District of Florida, against "Wikipedia Encyclopedia, USA, All News Media, All State Board of Elections, Federal Election Commission". See Dkt. 3:07-cv-00994-VMC-HTS.
Posted at 8:37PM on Feb 8th 2008 by Ruben
13. I am not sure anyone would read this after the tons of writing above but I think you got it wrong this time. If you are one of the few that is able to read balance sheets, understand economy, and choose your president by more than 2 parameters, then you have to remember also that there are millions of people that have no clue whatsoever of what the hell is going on.
Not convinced? Here is another one - whatever they decide to share in details they will get torn away by the public. Either position on a problem will cause such disturbance that it definitely is not good worth it sharing anything to the public, when for years presidents have won without sharing shit.
And why share anyway? Maybe they don't even plan on doing anything specific.
Politics is just not business, it plays by its own rules, which often seem to be contrary to intuition unless you get into it.
My small 2c
14. Look I get it...no one out there is "the one," but anyone has to be better than now. All I know is that this is the first election that I can vote in, and with all of the coverage I don't know what tobelieve! They all say things I think are right, they all say things that make me want to puke. The fact remains that no matter who we elect not everyone will be happy, including me. And no matter how much I pay attention to issues and policy etc. as I try to do the "right thing" for my first election and gather accurate info to make an informed decision, it will be impossible to seperate fact from rhetoric.
15. I think the good Dr. Roy sent me an email about helping him get several million dollars out of an African country.
Posted at 10:36PM on Feb 8th 2008 by BlueCarp
17. Ron Paul..waa! waa! waa!
At first, RP's ideas sound really good...cut everything out. But think about it. Do you know how many jobs are associated with all the programs and overseas venues? Bureaucracy employs thousands upon thousands of people.
We cant just retrain them to build (sturdy) bridges.
Posted at 11:58PM on Feb 8th 2008 by Jeff Winkfein
18. who's going to remember the disabled? nobody helps us out i've been 4 years without a paycheck and nobody in the gov't cares. finally received my disability after going $80,000 in the hole while all these candidates talk about how much money they spend on campaign when they could help people that need it
Posted at 12:15AM on Feb 9th 2008 by tony
19. Mark:
I agree with every damn word you said in this piece!!
Disaffected former Republican from California.
Posted at 12:37AM on Feb 9th 2008 by Cranky Greg
20. Oh, GOD no! NOT Bloomberg! He's running a virtually fascist government in New York, doesn't pay attention to anything that doesn't get the Daily News stirring while wasting resources on worthless shit (seriously... trans fats?), and he's a sullen prick to boot; I can imagine him in negotiations with hostile countries.
As a registered Libertarian, I agree Ron Paul is not the answer. Personally, the best candidates on both sides of the Liberal/Conservative fence - Joe Biden, Bill Richardson on the left, Fred Thompson on the right - are out, and that's left us with a zealot (Huckabee), a nutball (Paul), a geriatric (McCain), a phony (Obama), and I don't even know what to call Clinton. Honestly, my whole vote, I'm fairly sure, will end up depending on whoever McCain's running mate is.
If he picks someone like Condi Rice or Fred Thompson, I'll not only vote for him but seriously think of becoming a member of his campaign.
If he picks someone like Rudy Guiliani, I'll have to seriously consider who comes out of the Republican side.
If he picks Mike Huckabee, I'm on the first damned plane back to Canada.
Posted at 1:13AM on Feb 9th 2008 by Christopher Bowen
1. Thank you for writing "My Presidential Endorsement." None of the candidates excite me and I don't believe any of them. Your blog helps explain why the American people, and especially me, have such a distrust of politicians. A question I have is: in today's world of 15 second sound bites could a politician with a well thought out plan get elected or would the details bore the people who control the media? I don't know, but I have my doubts.
Posted at 6:34PM on Feb 8th 2008 by Bill Camp