ndogg's Journal: Disappointment: Dean lost Wisconsin

Dean lost Wisconsin, which saddens me, but does not surprise me. I had invested so much time and energy into trying to get students at my campus to vote. There seems to be such a blasé attitude around here towards politics, but I blame part of that on campus policies, which were originally intended for solicitors and evangelizers, but people have been using it to depress any sort of political campaigning as well. It seems to be such a shame from my perspective. Noting that, I hear students complain about tuition hikes, unfavorable policies placed upon college students, etc. and they all act as though they are things that just happen to them, outside of their control. If they are not willing to participate within the politics of this nation, then they should not be surprised with what happens to them. Some people expressed the notion that they did not vote because they had not gathered enough information to make an informed decision, which is something of which I understand, but I still place blame upon them since it is simply an extension of the blasé attitude that I had mentioned earlier.

However, going back to Dean, I cannot figure how people can just seemingly ignore what he had done in Vermont. He balanced the budget there (in fact, he turned a $60M deficit into a $100M surplus), brought in jobs, got almost everybody health care coverage, particularly those under 18 (~96%, with an additional 3% that are eligible). Not only that, he's not trying to promise everything plus the stars. His promises are realistic goals that can actually be met.

About that last point, one should take into consideration that he is a medical doctor. That means he is a scientist. Scientists must often make decisions based upon preponderance of evidence. A preponderance of evidence allows for objectivity when making a decision. That is, however, somewhat of a weak, and fallacious argument. It is, nonetheless, something to consider, although a decision about political candidacy should not be made upon such a characteristic.

Some people do not like that he was born into a rich family, however, that is as fallacious as my point about him being a medical doctor.

Overall, this is simply my own rant. I needed to write about it somewhere, and I decided to write it here.

Dean may not become the Democratic nominee, but the first link that I provided gave me some hope that something will come out of Dean's historical campaign anyway, and I sure as heck hope so. I want something for all my time and effort here on campus. Maybe he will become the running-mate to who ever wins the nomination. Even if he does not get that, I hope that maybe some type of political action committee will be formed with all the funds. I voted for him, not because I agreed with everything he stood for, but because I felt he could do the best for our country out of all the people running for the presidency. Perhaps, by some miracle, things will turn around in the next few elections. I have heard that Dean's campaign is very large in New York (as was related to me by some of his campaign managers that came here to Oshkosh).

Interesting links:
A very interesting post about Dean's positions on various issues
Selling Dean Short
How not to argue

Edwards

[njchick]

Forget Dean, he is not electable. The really interesting result is that Edwards was so close to winning the state, despite the fact that Clark endorsed Kerry. It looks like the voters are concerned about electability of Kerry, in the light of the recent allegations [google.com]. It's actually good to have another electable candidate on the ballot in case Kerry finds himself in a mire. Dean won't be a good replacement for Kerry.

Re:Edwards

[ndogg]

I don't care much for electability. I care about what the candidates have done, and what their positions are on issues. I didn't vote like a pundit, like everyone else that voted in the primaries. I voted for what I believed in. I think it's a shame people don't do that anymore.

Re:Edwards

[njchick]

Sometimes we have to vote like pundits for our votes to make a difference. If you don't care about electability of Howard Dean, perhaps you don't care who wins the election, do you?

A party that nominates a presidential candidate is supposed to nominate someone who can reach to the majority of the electorate rather than just serve the interests of the party.