NADER
Bob Perlman: “I’ve always been struck by the similarity between Nader’s inability to realize exactly how much power he held in the
days leading up to that election – and how to use it – and George W. Bush’s
inability to grasp the opportunity he had to unite the country to good purpose
in the days following September 11th. In
Nader’s case it was most likely ego, in Bush’s either ignorance or witlessness,
but the result was the same: disaster for our country. Sometimes great leadership is seeing a path that
no one else can discern, but at other times it's just the ability to set aside
pride and preconceptions, and see what’s right in front
of you.”
Aaron Long: “Everything
you say about
Ralph makes sense and yet it bugs me nonetheless. Imagine you are an elementary school teacher
and your class is studying about how our system of government works, how any
kid could grow up to be president. Maybe
you run a mock election in your class.
How much fun is it going to be to explain to the kid – who has read about
Nader and decided he is her man and she is going to vote for him – that her
vote for Nader is not just misguided, but probably a morally reprehensible act,
that she cannot vote for the person she prefers, but has to vote for this other
person she doesn’t especially care for, whose beliefs don’t particularly match
her own, just in order to prevent an even bigger jerk from winning? This is your birthright, your franchise. Enjoy.”
F I
hear you. That’s why we need Instant
Run-Off voting. But there's another
lesson for our elementary school class . . . which is: sometimes in life we
need to compromise to get a good result.
If we insist on getting a perfect
result, we could wind up really hurting ourselves and our classmates. “The perfect is the enemy of the good,” we
might tell our fourth graders. And, when
they look perplexed: “You’ll understand
when you’re older. That’s why you have
to be 18 years old to vote.”
Meanwhile, enjoy this video. Seriously, dude: too much fun to miss.
STEAMING CUP OF COFFEE
And
how about this
video? Yet more fun.
And you’ve got to admit, it’s a good idea.
GOVERNOR SIEGELMAN
If this story has
captured your attention, here’s
a lot more background on it. Is it
possible this could have happened in America?