Dave's Notebook
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Even though I fear both men running for U.S. President are likely to do a poor job if elected, I'm nevertheless excited about the final weeks of the campaign. Politics has that kind of hold on me. Sure, I know it's as phony as professional wrestling, but it sure is good theater.
One never knows what to expect when candidates are out on the road giving one speech after another after another after another. Then there are the debates, where one surprisingly clever retort can change everything.
So, yes, I'm excited.
It's easy, of course to decide who to vote for when you have one candidate who should be a good president and one who should be a bad president. It's a little tougher when both candidates should do a good job, but it's a win-win. Even if the lesser candidate gets in he/she should be an effective executive.
The real problem arises when neither candidate is apt to be a good executive. I feel we were faced with this dilemma when Richard Nixon ran against George McGovern and againÑeven more soÑwhen Gerald Ford ran against Jimmy Carter. And, I believe we face a similar situation this time. Frankly, I'm not impressed with the political philosophy or the past records of either Barack Obama or John McCain.
I am impressed with Obama's presence. He certainly has charisma, drawing comparisons to John Kennedy' comparisons based on presence not substance. Yes, he has charisma, but so did a lot of dictators. Having charisma is no guarantee that one is another Ronald Reagan or Franklin Roosevelt.
I am more than impressed with McCain's character and courage. His sense of duty is the stuff that heroes are made of.
I'm very impressed with Sarah Palin. She is every bit as charismatic as Obama. I'm hopeful she has more substance, and so far that certainly appears to be the case. As for Joe Biden, he's simply another old party hack and a windbag. He'll never live down his assertion that Obama is unqualified to be president. Nor will he live down his assertion that Obama is a clean, articulate, young black man.
So how can Obama ever live down the big mistake of picking Biden for his running mate? Someone like IndianaÕs Evan Bayh would have been a much better choice.
At any rate, there is only one thing to do no matter which of the three scenarios proposed: one good candidate and one bad one, two good ones, or two bad ones. The right choice is to select the better of the two candidates. In this election that choice, for me, is John McCain.
One promise that both Obama and McCain are making simply won't happen. They are promising to end the partisanship. That won't happen. Politics are partisan. They always have been. Our earliest governments were partisan. In his farewell address George Washington warned against the partisanship sure to arise from a two-party system.
Washington was probably the most popular American ever elected president, but during his two terms, his popularity diminished. Every president we've ever had has had to battle with Congress, including members of their own parties.
Non-partisan governments do exist; they are known as dictatorships. So, fortunately partisanship will continue. The complaint that partisanship keeps things from getting done is probably true. It's also probably a good thing.