Am I the only one left who cares about issues?
It is official! CBS is no longer standing behind the authenticity of the memos they used in the report about Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard. I didn't actually see their report I have only followed this story a little bit because it frankly doesn't interest me. I was also completely uninterested in the whole "Swift Boats for Truth" controversy. What really pisses me off is that the media is covering this election cycle as if it were the red carpet at the Oscars. If I want gossip about who said what or did what 30 years ago, I'll watch Joan Rivers and read the National Inquirer!
Let me tell you about what does matter to me. I want the media to ask the candidates what they plant to do to reduce the number of Americans living without health insurance. I want the media to ask the candidates how everyday Americans can afford to help their kids get a good education while tuition costs are skyrocketing at colleges and universities in an economy where people with four year degrees are fighting over low-paying jobs. I want the media to ask candidates why more people are emigrating from the USA than immigrating to it for the first time in our recent history. I want the media to ask what effect pollution may be having on the severity of weather in our country and region not just whether or not the candidates are engaging in political pandering when they talk about or visit affected areas. I want the media to ask the candidates how they plan to help stabilize Afghanistan's fledgling democracy. I want the media to ask how we can expect democracy in the new Iraq when we didn't get democracy in the new Kuwait after the first Gulf War. I want the media to ask how we can end our ties with terrorist regimes when powerful families supporting these regimes have nearly a trillion dollars invested in our economy and the removal of those funds would be a disaster to our economy. I could go on...
But really, I'm getting pretty angry. This is not a left-wing vs. right-wing thing. Bill Moyers recently said that this election is "the fight of our lives." I am inclined to agree. The issues that come to the forefront in this election cycle are going to matter much more than who is elected. These issues will likely guide our policy for the next decade or so.
This entry is crossposted to my Live Journal.
Posted by alycia at September 20, 2004 06:09 PM