Monday, September 27, 2004

My political naivete

Someone accused me of being politically naive today.

They sent me one of those worn out 'Kerry Attack' emails. This particular one was about jobs going outside the US. It pointed out all the countries in which Heinz operates factories. It was an impressive list of foreign countries.

I replied back to my friend that, first, Teresa Heinz Kerry is not running for President. John Kerry is running for President.
Secondly, Teresa Heinz Kerry owns less than 4% of the Heinz company. While this amounts to a substantial amount of money, it does not amount to any controlling interest. She does not sit on the board. Also, the factories in countries outside the US sell products to the countries in which they are located. There are freshness issues here. The ketchup you bought at Wal-Matrix was prepared by loving American hands.

She responded back that she was awed by my naive approach to politics. She was amazed that I thought the wife of the President was not an issue in the campaign. While I agree, that the wife of the candidate has some influence, I disagree that she is or should be a deciding factor in the election. There are substantially more important issues at hand here than the wife of the President or the wife of the Presidential candidate. I am not overly impressed with Laura Bush but that has nothing to do with my disdain for GW.

Naive ?

In 1974-75, I was a senior in high school. One of my history classes was "Current Events". Our text book was Newsweek Magazine. It was the end of the Vietnam War. It was the end of the Nixon Presidency. It was Watergate. It was 18 minutes missing on a tape. The entire political drama played out for the American people. At 17, I was hooked. I am not sure I have been politically naive since then. Ford .. Carter .. Reagan .. Bush Sr .. Clinton .. Bush .. I have followed them all. I have watched their records. I have VOTED and VOICED my opinion. I revere my right to vote and voice my political opinion. I am passionate about the causes in which I believe. I am an able debater. It is not now, nor has it ever been, my desire to end up with egg on my face. (that is not to say that it hasn't happened.) I study. I read. I listen. Naive? I think not.

Well, at least not about politics.

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