> So you're saying that if a quarter of U.S. banks fail and the
> unemployment rate hits 25%, Kerry might get interesting?
Hey, I don't know about Kerry, but the situation sure would! (Actually, I'm reading a book on the 20s-30s which says that when FDR was inaugurated every bank in the country was closed; I guess that is a bit of an exaggeration.)
I don't think the situation has to get that bad; I was just suggesting that you can't always predict exactly what a presidential candidate will do if elected by the way he/she looks before the campaign starts. Apparently FDR kept his cards very close to his chest, so almost no one knew what he would do once he got in. Based on his record, Kerry seems to have been all over the map on a lot of issues (except perhaps for funding marine biology labs), which is what makes people very nervous about him.
Unlike a lot of leftists, who seem to judge "establishment" politicians as mere representatives of positions on issues and empty recipients of cash from big corporations, I think that the character and personality of the actual person does matter a lot (which is why it is so important, IMHO, to get Bush out). The advisers and staff of the politician also make a big difference, so it is important to look into who is advising him now and who he might be likely to appoint if elected.
But all of this research, IMHO, would be for the purpose of figuring out the best way of fighting and opposing him once he is elected. I'm assuming that we will need to fight a lot, even most, of his policies if he is elected, just as we have been fighting presidents since time immemorial. In other words: elect the SOB and then fight him like hell.
Jon Johanning // jjohanning at igc.org __________________________________ When I was a little boy, I had but a little wit, 'Tis a long time ago, and I have no more yet; Nor ever ever shall, until that I die, For the longer I live the more fool am I. -- Wit and Mirth, an Antidote against Melancholy (1684)