Wednesday, October 3, 2007

American Monarchy or American Democracy?



The United States might not have a Monarchy, but for 40 % of all Americans it might feel like it. Bush, Clinton, Bush...Clinton??? It sure is starting to sound like one. A recent article from the Associated Press reveals some rather startling statistics on the state of our American democratic system. Here are a few excerpts

"We now have a younger generation and middle-age generation who are going to think about national politics through the Bush-Clinton prism," said Princeton University political historian Julian Zelizer, 37, whose first chance to vote for president was 1988, the year the first President Bush was elected. And as for the question of fatigue, Zelizer added: "It's not just that we've heard their names a lot, but we've had a lot of problems with their names."

And now, if Hillary Clinton were to be elected and re-elected, the nation could go 28 years in a row with the same two families governing the country. Add the elder Bush's terms as vice president, and that would be 36 years straight with a Bush or Clinton in the White House.

Already, for 116 million Americans, there has never been a time when there wasn't a Bush or Clinton in the White House, either as president or vice president.


Does a nation of 303 million people really have only two families qualified to run the show?

Raising concern on the "two dynasties" and the state of America's democracy David Gergen and Todd Gitlin responded,

"I think we would be fundamentally healthier if we broadened the zone of candidates who could make it to the top...Historically, politics has been open to newcomers who rise up to reflect the grass-roots sentiment of the country...That's still possible, but it's harder than it used to be, especially because it's so hard to raise money" David Gergen, director of Harvard University's Center for Public Leadership

"...while some people are bothered by the dominance of the two families..right now there is one massive fatigue in America and that is with George Bush. No other fatigue comes close... I think democracy should be more expansive." Todd Gitlin, a professor at Columbia University's School of Journalism

American Democracy has been subverted. For over 2 decades, in some amazing bout of statistically impossible madness, the American populace has chosen either a Bush or a Clinton. I'm not a statistician, but I know the probabilities of that occurring is low. An even lower probability would be is if all graduated from the same Ivy League University. They have..Guess which one...Yale.

Please America..not another Yalie in '08.

Stop the Monarchy...Free Democracy

Same Players. Different Scandal.

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