TO>True, but the president has influence in Congress as well, as is
TO>evidenced by the "people" that have been elected to the Supreme
TO>Court during the Clinton administration.
Yes, Presidential influence can be substantial.  But it isn't inherently
so.  Mr Ford's influence was many things, but substantial wasn't really
one of them.  Clinton, for being an outsider, has a heck of a lot of
influence.  To my eyes, a phenomenal amount of influence.  I would
expect Dole to have every bit as much influence, if not more.  Both are
consumate schmoozers.  Bill Clinton perhaps a bit more so.  People have
called Regan a teflon president, but he's nothing compared to ole slick
Willie.
TO>Leaving? Were you "with" the BC party before? I can't believe that
TO>anyone here (except for the odd transient) would have voted for
TO>Clinton; he was pretty clear, to me, about his stand on firearms
TO>before he was elected, despite that "I went hunting, but failed"
TO>thing. I support you in your veiws of BC, and Dole; I will not be
TO>voting for BC in *any* case, and unless Dole smartens up quickly,
TO>I will not vote for him either. I would rather elect Mickey Mouse.
TO>Take care.
Well I did say BillyBob party.  I view them as one and the same.  But
yes, you've got the party right.  I come from a family of military
democrates, if you can believe that.  I joined them after years of being
an independent because I wanted to vote in primaries.  Which I haven't
done yet because at primary times I still can't figure out if I like
anybody.
When it comes to congressional and local elections, who you vote for is
important.  Your vote counts, and it may well be your vote that makes
the decision.  I'm much more inclined for vote damage control there, if
I consider the damage control worthwhile.  If both candidates are
roughly equal loosers though, I will probably vote my conscience and
write in Mickey Mouse .
That's important here.  Using school grades as an analogy I see Bill
with a solid F, and Bob with a very low D.  Voting for Dole then to me
is not damage control.  If Bob had a grade of say high C in my mind,
then I could see voting for him.  But since I see him so poorly, it
isn't wise in my mind to do so.  Especially with a third (4th, 5th 6th,
etc) party candidate I suspect of having a solid B.  I don't want to
vote for low grades, especially if they win.
I also haven't lost sight of the fact that none of us are actually
voting for the President.  The entire nation could vote for Mr Browne,
and he could not win the presidensy.  The electorial collage is the body
that actually votes for the president.  All the hype, all the concern,
it's all just a shell game.  A couple of hundred folk are the ones that
will actually vote for the President.  And those folk are selected by
your state government, according to whatever rules your state has
governing it.
So what the heck, the Presidential election is a great time to make your
statements to the parties.  Because whatever you vote for doesn't
matter.  It isn't counted for anything, except public opinion.  Which
means it can be a great tool for telling the replicrat party what you
really think of them and their actions.  At least that's how I see it.
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