Battle Of Ohio

Imagine it pouring, it's raining down on us,
Mosh pits outside the oval office
Someone's trying to tell us something, maybe this is God just saying
we're responsible for this monster, this coward, that we have empowered
This is Bin Laden, look at his head nodding,
How could we allow something like this, Without pumping our fist
Now this is our, final hour
Let me be the voice, and your strength, and your choice
Let me simplify the rhyme, just to amplify the noise
Try to amplify the times it, and multiply it by six
Teen million people are equal of this high pitch
Maybe we can reach Al Quaida through my speech
Let the President answer on high anarchy
Strap him with AK-47, let him go
Fight his own war, let him impress daddy that way
No more blood for oil, we got our own battles to fight on our soil
No more psychological warfare to trick us to think that we ain't loyal
If we don't serve our own country we're patronizing a hero
Look in his eyes, it's all lies, the stars and stripes
They've been swiped, washed out and wiped,
And Replaced with his own face, mosh now or die
If I get sniped tonight you'll know why, because I told you to fight
--Eminem

There are some stark choices for the US election. On the one hand, we have a conservative candidate, who is against abortion, is for limiting freedoms, and for terrorizing the world... and he seems pretty dumb. And then there is George Bush. Just Kidding. Sort of. I'm probably going to stick out a little in the Canadian Conservative blogosphere, because I'm not a big Bush fan. I'm just not. I don't really want to root for either the dems or gop, because I really don't have a horse in this one. I don't consider Kerry strong on many issues, and I don't like any of Bush's domestic policies. In fact, I can't think of one domestic issue where Bush would get my vote. Abortion, stem cell research, gay marriage, tax policy, deficit reduction, etc have all been botched issues. Never mind his trade policies, or the bungling of Iraq. He has been horribly incomptent on Iraq (not counting the initial war, which I think was a good idea).

I can honestly say that in Canada, I am conservative. I have a conservative membership and I honestly want to see the federal liberals thrown out of office. Having been in the US, and into the heart of the beast of Texas where my family has lived for a couple of years, I can also say that a conservative down there is not like a conservative up here. Their society is different, and I don't think that I have to bend my ideology to root for Bush. In actual fact, Kerry would be a conservative member if he were Canadian, to be honest. I don't hold any great liking for Kerry either. I know the media is rooting for him, and I dislike the attempts of the international press (BBC, CBC, etc) to use any all means to crank out pro-Kerry propaganda. I realize this, and I realize that there are many valid criticisms of Kerry. He's wishy-washy, beholden to the far-left fringe of Carter/Moore, unable to be decisive and generally unlikeable and uncharismatic. He's also making cheques that his ass can't cash in the form of promises on 'deficit reduction'.

There are many things about Bush I do like. For one, he's genuine. If he says he's going to do something, you can bank on it. Certified, attourney's trust, money order, registered and ready for delivery, thank you. Good as gold. That is really refreshing and I think that Americans, love or hate him, can appreciate his resolve on the heels of Clinton. The problem is, he mistakes stubborness for consistency. Things are going badly in Iraq, but he thinks it wouldn't be 'consistent' to try to change tactics. That's not a good sign. Kerry, for his part, is more reflecting. He'll agonize over decisions, and really dig deep into the issues. But he's not decisive or clear.

So, really it doesn't matter what I think. I don't have to hold my nose and vote for either one, and I can sit in my seat (in class) on election night and simply accept the outcome (assuming it is all done on tuesday night).