My Candidate

Here it is, a presidential election year (2012), and I find myself somewhat dismayed at the choices I have. On the one hand, I have a Romney/Ryan ticket with which I am unable to find little, if any, common ground. Romney seems like a nice guy, but it is difficult to pin down whom he really is, and what he really stands for. Is this the Romney that signed health care legislation into law in Massachusetts, or is this a different kind of Romney now? And I shudder to think of Paul Ryan being a heart-beat away from the presidency; a man who likes the "no exceptions" rule for abortions and whose voucher plan for health insurance would kill Medicare as we know it in a few short years and that would eventually price poor people out of the market.

So, I have problems supporting the Republican ticket, but I also have problems supporting the Democratic camp as well. At present, the only program of President Obama that I unequivocally support is the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In my opinion, we have needed national health care for decades, and his plan, while not perfect, is a step in the right direction. Beyond that, though, he and I drift apart, albeit not severely. As for Biden, I have almost as many misgivings about him as I do about Ryan. I feel that he was a political expediency in 2008, but has shown little presidential timbre. His main calling card seems to be a propensity for telling bad jokes at inopportune times.

So, what's a guy like me supposed to do? Well, while I know that this is an exercise in wishful thinking, I decided to list some of the agendas to which my candidate would adhere. Here goes nothing...

1) My candidate would promise to dismantle the DEA in its entirety.

2) He/she would propose legislation legalizing cannabis and the selling of it in licensed

locations (such as liquor stores and taverns), and taxing those sales.

3) He/she would immediately withdraw all American troops from the Middle East.

4) He/she would reduce all foreign military financial aid by %50, while keeping intact

all humanitarian aid for disease, hunger, natural disasters, etc.

5) He/she would reduce the budget for the Defense Department.

6) He/she would increase the budget for the Department of Education and change the current "test" based system to one with an emphasis on learning and understanding.

7) He/she would increase the budget for NASA, whose achievements have affected our lives in so many beneficial ways.

8) He/she would put all so-called "social" issues (abortion, prayer in school, what it says on our money, etc.) on a back burner, leaving them at their current status, hopefully to never be visited again.

Well, there you have it. As you can see, I'm not hard to please; now all I need to do is find me a lantern and start roaming the streets in search of my candidate.

Yeah, I hear you: good luck with that one, right?