Big government

So I guess this is more of a rant than anything else, but it is probably my biggest concern in American politics right now.

I know America has issues. Big ones. Healthcare, a war on the other side of the world, a sagging economy, and a slow steady fall from the top of the world heap. And it seems like we need something to get us back on track. We are clamoring for a leader, someone who will take the reigns back from what may be the worst presidency in history.

But really what should that leader look like?

This current administration has actually been more like a regime. It has been flatly denying the system of checks and balances from writing signing statements, to claiming authority over international treaties, to tinkering with the attorneys and just flouting court decisions. They have broken laws over and over again, done things Americans despise and generally lost all of our international good will.

How in the world did they do this? Seriously, don't we live in a representative democracy with extensive checks and balances to prevent this from happening? I thought we could check the president when he gets a bit out of control. He has the lowest approval rating...ever and has for a while. And the power doesn't seem to be decreasing.

So what should we do in response? Well we should elect someone else into office who is just smarter than Bush and isn't as evil and who can undo all of the bad things he has done and do good things instead, right? If the president is so strong can't the next one fix everything? We know whoever will be next has too be better than Bush.

However, lets also remember the other side of Bush. He has had the highest approval rating of any president...even right when he did the things that so many hate him for now. So it doesn't seem to matter how much we like or trust our president, it can go wrong.

The problem is not just picking the right man for the job; it's picking the right job for the man. My concern right now is that Americans think that the way we should fix everything is by electing another equally powerful president to fix the problems, but the problem is itself the power of the executive. We need a weaker executive, and I don't think that is what democrats want right now. I think both Obama and Clinton want to fix the US by being as powerful as Bush but doing everything 'right.'

I really don't think this an issue of good or bad intentions on behalf of either of the two. They both want to help the US, and I do honestly believe that. Obama because he believes in something bigger than himself and Hillary because she wants to prove she is bigger than she is. But the best intentions don't matter unless they are really getting at the problem. And the problem is not just the direction, but also the power that is able to move us that way.

We need to get back to a government that is balanced, a little bit more 'free market' (i.e. really what is the best for the people not for sub-group 13B) and hopefully a little bit smaller.

I am genuinely afraid that if the next administration does not move towards a smaller leaner government, then maybe not them but at some point 10 or 20 years down the line, we will be in much more significant trouble.

After over 200 years of ground-breaking politics (democracy that doesn't involve the guillotine , human rights activism (end of slavery (got it on the second try) actually addressing racism (not perfectly), open-ness (we've impeached people), peace (okay one civil war, but that was about point 2) and prosperity (biggest power that was not one at any point 200 years ago or before and also brought the computer, capitalism, regular home ownership and the microwave) -- I fear for the US. We may be our own undoing (people on top always are).

I end with the common phrase 'Power corrupts...