McCain Vs Obama

It being 60 days before the election -- I guess it's finally time to sort this one out.

And once again -- my first complaint -- is that the campaign websites are so worthless regarding what each candidate has actually done -- for which the most useful authority seems to be Wikipedia.



O.K. -- all advertising must sell the sizzle not the steak -- but still, it would seem that a sincere concern for public life would motivate a candidate to have at least some part of their website offer serious discussion of their role in recent history.

Here's my pros and cons for each candidate:

McCain

Pros: The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act. -- whether it can survive the Republican Supreme Court is another question -- or ever be effective -- but you've got to respect the drive to end quid-pro-quo legislation - even if it must be a perpetual activity. McCain gets big points for this -- and maybe only a man with his hero-status could have taken it as far as it's gone.

Pros: Educational Choice. This is part of the Republican platform -- and I don't even know if McCain has ever given it a second thought -- but still it gets some points -- even if Republicans have never been able to do anything about it, even when they ran the show.

Cons: Universal Health Care: McCain has spoken up against it -- saying that it "puts a bureaucrat between you and your doctor". But what about people who can't afford a doctor (i.e. major medical treatment) at all?. I was one of those -- being dropped by my insurance company and then un-insurable for 6 years due to a precondition. This is a major issue for our country at this time --and McCain's sloganeeering can only be called callous and thoughtless.


Con: What else has he accomplished ? what more will he accomplish ? Returning a Republican administration to office for another four years so they can continue to serve the interests of big business? I don't really see any serious purpose here other than "I want to be President" --
any more than his reason for flying planes in Vietnam was "I want to be an admiral like my father" (he's admitted that prior to his capture, his motivations were all self centered)

A man of extraordinary personal strength ? Yes
A man who deserves to be honored as a hero? Yes
A man who will use that reputation to benefit the public rather than just himself ?

I'm not sure.

(and yet -- if he had beaten Bush in the 2000 primary -- I would probably have voted for him as President)


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Obama:

Pro: Mostly -- to return a Democratic administration to Washington -- with its historic role of serving the bottom rather than the top of society-- including/especially appointing Supreme Court justices who will protect the campaign finance reform effected by McCain -- and to work further towards universal health care (not that it's achievement is a cure-all -- but it's a step in the right direction)

And yes -- I do like the idea of a black man as President. Much of what a President does is to exemplify America. (that's why Bill Clinton was such a failure) -- and having grown up in a Jim Crow city (Cincinnati) -- I would feel very good about a black American President -- and that's how I would like the rest of the world to see us.



Con: I just don't know much more that's good about him So far -- he's been a go-along guy -- don't rock the Democratic Party boat. Of course -- that's what beginners have to do -- he's not a big war hero like McCain -- if he rocks the boat too much -- they won't let him climb on.

Perhaps he has been an inventive, effective legislator -- I just don't know the details.

Judicial Contests - 2008

O.K. -- I admit -- I'm totally at sea regarding this part of the ballot -- and never have done the justices justice (usually just leaving it blank -- or voting against all incumbents)


But a person can do a good job - or a poor one -- while sitting in judgment of their fellow citizens -- and those who do a good job should be re-elected -- if only I knew who that was !

What I'd really like to see -- is at least one essay for and against each candidate -- rather than just a sum total of endorsements.

Lacking that -- I'm going to go with what the candidate has to say -- figuring that if a judge can't express himself/herself in succinct, expository prose -- they have no business being a judge.

So.. for example.... in the Disko vacancy -- Dennis J. Burke has got the most endorsements -- but has some difficulty expressing himself. His website is minimal (at best) -- and the text that he put onto the website of the Cook County Clerk is .. well .. let's just say it's not very impressive -- and leaves me completely unconvinced when it reaches its awkward conclusion:

"As you can see, Judge Burke is a very well-rounded individual who is well-qualified for this position"


On the other hand, his opponent , Lauretta Higgins Wolfson, came up with a bit more tuneful speech --with something of a rhetorical flair:


"I bring to the Circuit Court the sum of my experience, in law and in life. I know there are no unimportant cases and no unimportant people. Everything that comes before me matters. Everyone matters. Everyone who comes to court – individuals, government agencies, corporations – deserves to be treated fairly and decently. I believe the way we treat people and the way we decide disputes has everything to do with trust and confidence in our courts. Without that trust and confidence our legal system would crumble"



So Wolfson gets my vote -- and so do these other judicial candidates -- judging from the text they posted to the Cook County Clerk's site:

Michael B. Hyman
Frank James Ryan
Debra B. Walker
Richard F. Walsh
Alan J. Greiman


Many candidates did not take the time to write anything at all -- which makes it very easy for me to prefer the opponent.

And incredibly enough -- nothing was written by any of the candidates for some of the vacancies. They must assume that some kind of party machine politics is going to carry them onward to victory.

I just hope they're wrong.

Democratic Primary February 2008

*U.S. House of Representatives, 7th District: Danny Davis (incumbent) vs. Robert Dallas.

Looking at Danny Davis on "On the Issues" website -- I'm not desperate to see him retire. (though I do wish he had voted on behalf of voucher school programs)

But regarding Robert Dallas -- why doesn't this man have a website ? Why would he expect anyone to vote for him ? I guess he just wants to make his name more familiar for future races -- but this seems to be a rather cynical abuse of the electoral system. If he has a reason to run this time --he should tell us -- otherwise, he shouldn't run. So I probably will remember his name --but not in a positive sense.

*Metropolitan Water Reclamation District:

Cook County Democratic Party endorses: Kathleen Meany, Frank Avila, Dan Maragos
Chicago Tribune endorses: Mariyana Spyropoulos, Derrick Stinson, Frank Avila

Why would anyone vote for those endorsed by the local Democratic party -- unless one is a loyal member ? So I'll vote against their candidates -- except for Frank Avila -- since he appears to be the only candidate who's an expert on the subject. The other two endorsed by the Tribune seem reasonable enough (reading their statments linked to the Board of Elections site) -- and the other candidates show nothing special to recommend them - i.e. no special expertise, no special ideas.

So -- I'm going with Mariyana Spyropoulos, Derrick Stinson, and Frank Avila

*Cook County Recorder of Deeds: Eugene Moore (incumbent) vs. Ed Smith.

I'm afraid that everything I've heard about Eugene Moore is negative -- as a player in the kind of county politics that rewards loyalty and punishes real public service.
(He's repeatedly listed as being the patron of the kingpins of our pathetic, Proviso District 209 school district)

So in this race -- I would vote for a horse instead of him.

*Cook County State's Attorney:

Thanks to the this wonderful site, presented by the Chicago Tribune, we get see a candidate forum.

Why aren't all candidate forums put up on the internet ?

It looks like the black and white candidates are split over whether the public needs to be protected more from the criminals or from the law enforcement system -- and it's probably a bit of both. But Larry Suffredin seems to be the candidate most concerned with running the office effectively/efficiently.

And yet -- there's his career as a lobbyist for casino and tobacco interests (as reported in the Tribune editorial that preferred to endorse Tom Allen) Is that the only way he could pay the bills ? This just doesn't look like the career of a devoted public servant.

Tom Allen has the personality of a dead fish -- but maybe I'll vote for him anyway -- at least his presentation was simple and direct.




(other contests to be discussed later)

Presidential Primaries

It's time for this voter to weigh in on Presidential primaries.

It's possible that Iraq would have descended into civil sectarian war whether or not the U.S. had invaded it - and whether the U.S. has disbanded its national army or not --- but right now -- it sure looks like a disaster -- and the Republican party is responsible for it.

It might still make sense to support the sectarian wing of the Republican party against the Christian true-believers -- but I think the whole party needs to spend some time in the penalty box to contemplate the consequences of their poor judgment.

So I'm only going to be considering Democratic candidates today.

Every primary has two separate issues:




1. Who is more electable

2. Who could do a better job once elected




Regarding the first question - I'm not very confidant. Which candidate would have the broadest appeal ? Since Americans elected W the last around -- despite his deceit and disastrous war -- it's hard for me to figure who they'll like this time -- and
maybe I'll just beg off this question.

Regarding the second -- I would have to pick Hilary Clinton -- because she's already spent 8 years in the White House -- she knows that job -- she knows who can work with her - and she's even spent some time as a political leader rather than just the wife of one.

So I've got to pick Hilary -- even though I find Barack Obama more appealing as a personality -- and as symbol of America's long climb out of racism.


(and maybe the next time around -- she actually will be able to reform American health care -- an issue that hangs over my un-insurable life like the Sword of Damocles)

Waiting for the next election cycle

Since Citizen Miller has a focus on candidates rather than issues, this site is now going into dormancy -- until the next election cycle comes around.

The big challenge in local elections is getting enough (or any) information about the candidates -- and hopefully candidates will be a little more forthcoming the next time around.

I remember back forty years ago -- when I was growing up in Cincinnati -- my Mom was a member of the League of Women Voters -- and they presented information about every candidate for everything. Here (Illinois) the League seems to have morphed into issue advocacy.

The internet offers a great opportunity to economically present as much information as anyone wants to gather -- but that's the problem -- no one is doing that work in a reliable, non-partisan way -- and most of the candidates don't even bother to present themselves.

Here in Forest Park, we have a listserv for local politics (ForestParkForums.com) but participants are anonymous and irresponsible - so if there is any good information being presented, it's lost in the barrage of name-calling, rumor mongering, and vicious innuendo.

We also have a non-partisan community action group, Citizens United for Forest Park , but it's really just one man's crusade against Village Hall and over-development.

Hopefully -- eventually -- it will take its mission more seriously, and present an informative, non-partisan website covering local issues and candidates.

And finally, we have local blogger (Carl Nyberg) who's dedicated to "activist journalism" -- but he's not really dedicated to credible journalism -- which takes a lot a work (verifying all the stories that come in) - and since he's not getting paid for this job -- I can hardly blame him for not doing it.

And, of course, we have the local newspaper - (Forest Park Review) and maybe that's the best we'll ever have -- dependent on the skill and maturity of the young journalists who begin their careers with a low-paying job at a tiny, local newspaper.

My fondest hope is that the losing candidates from these recent elections will build informational websites with the time they would have spent going to board meetings if they had been elected.

Is that too much to ask ?

Post Mortem: Election April 2007

Well....... it looks like an endorsement by Citizen Miller is the kiss of death !

Of the 12 positions being filled by election -- only 2 of my candidates ended up in the winner's circle.

(but maybe that's good news -- because hopefully some of them, with extra time on their hands, will start political blogs that will make me better
informed in the next election cycle)

Regarding the Mayor of Forest Park:

I'd say it's amazing that the challenger did as well as she did (if 100 votes had swung the other way -- she'd have won)
given that:

*she was outspent at least 5:1
*she's not a good public speaker -- nor, from what I've seen -- a very congenial, glad-handing sort of person
*the incumbent has been perfectly situated to campaign face-to-face for his last 8 years in office (and there only are 2,800 voters here)
*the economic prospects and appearance of the village have remarkably improved over those past 8 years

So the obvious choice really was to vote for the incumbent -- except that --- the closer you look at what he's done -- the less appealing he becomes.

Even if it's perfectly legal - the pay-to-play American approach to politics is debilitating --- whether it's on a local or national level.

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Regarding the Commissioners of Forest Park:

The entire slate of candidates endorsed by the local newspaper turned out to be the winners -- so I guess most voters relied on them when selecting among mostly unfamiliar candidates.

I'm glad that Marty Tellalian won a seat -- he seems to have been the one candidate who was both already engaged in public life and critically thoughtful.

But I am down hearted that all of the other winners followed the incumbent mayor's lead in not endorsing the campaign pledge proposed by our local citizen's group, "Citizens United for Forest Park"

It's just not a good sign -- that yet another generation of politicians is marching lock-step toward a career of self-service.

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Regarding Proviso District 209 High Schools:

What a puzzle !

The "Proviso First" slate wins 2 of 3 seats -- but the third seat goes to the one candidate whom their campaign attacked the most vociferously ----
and all this despite the fact that "Proviso First" supported the incumbent administration of a school which has just scored at the very bottom of Chicago suburban school districts.


It seems that the total failure of job performance is completely irrelevant to political success.

Were so many voters just plain fooled by a campaign that pretended to be critical of incumbency ?

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Regarding the other races (Triton and Proviso trustees) --- the winning candidates presented nothing about themselves -- via either flier or website -- so how did they win ?

The politics of American education can be a very mysterious thing.

Election results: April 2007

Mayor of Forest Park



Anthony T. Calderone 1,491
Theresa A. Steinbach 1,295



Forest Park Commissioner (pick 4)

Rory Hoskins 1,676
Martin L. Tellalian 1,445
Michael R. Curry 1,411
Mark S. Hosty 1,318


John H. Plepel 1,127
Anthony J. Lazzara 1,004
Carl G. Nyberg 696
Jerry Webster 656



Proviso District 209: (pick 3)

Robert ''Bob'' Cox 6,209
Theresa L. Kelly 5,252
Robin Foreman 5,242

Kevin R. McDermott 4,961
Carla D. Johnson 3,755
Ralph W. Harris 3,575
Janice R. Johnson 3,471
James A. Boyd 2,969
Terrase Craig 1,869



Triton Board of Trustees:(pick 3)


Thomas Gary 22,614
Diane M. Viverito 20,800
Irene Moskal Del Giudice 16,141
Stephen R. Kubiczky 15,673
Alfonza ''AL'' McKinnor 12,407


Priviso Township Trustee of Schools:

Mark Walsh 10,472
John O'Sullivan 5,657