Shut Up And Listen 173

Vice-Presidential Politics

John Kerry picked John Edwards. Hell, it's already old news that no one cares about, that's how much it matters. I'm Canadian and even I know the VP doesn't matter worth shit really, especially in the election. It's one of those things that people are focussed on for a couple of days and then shrug and say, "Alright, what's next?"

But you know what? It should matter. Are you people retarded or something? The person chosen for VP is as important as the person chosen for president. Say you elect Kerry as president and then two days into his term, he drops dead of a heart attack, who steps up to the plate and is the new president? John fucking Edwards. This shit matters, people.

What doesn't matter, at least in one sense, is what Kerry and Edwards said about one another while in the primaries. Shouldn't hold it against them. That's the game of politics, accept that, and move on. What you should pay attention is what they said. Maybe what they said was right. Don't hold it against who said it. I mean, Kerry said Edwards lacks experience, but here he's picked Edwards to be one heartbeat away from the highest political post in the US, but don't hold that against Kerry. It's politics. I would hold it against Edwards though. Maybe. That was just an example though, as personally, I see a lack of political experience as a positive, rather than a negative. But that's me. I like my politicians as unused to the "way things work" as possible. Maybe then shit will get done.

Now, what do I think about the choice of Edwards? It was smart. My pick might have been Clark, but he wasn't that great in the primaries, so fuck him. It makes sense to pick the number two guy from the primaries. That's basically playing to your party. In the primaries, they said they wanted Kerry first, Edwards second, so give them what they want.

The thing I disagree with is the logic that Edwards will automatically guarantee the Carolinas to the Democrats. That's just stupid thinking. I don't get the idea that just because a person is from a state that they'll get elected on that level. I mean, if the Premier of Ontario ran on a federal level as the leader of his party, I don't think he'd necessarily take the province (currently, he probably would, but that's just because he belongs to the party that tends to take the province on a federal level on a very consistent basis). There is a certain logic, especially when dealing with governors, of that just because they were elected in their state in the first place, but that doesn't necessarily mean they'll take it federally. I mean, those are different levels altogether. The reasons why they elected the person on a more local level may be entirely different reasons as to why they'd elect someone on a national level.

And you know something? The Republicans were actually on the ball this time. They obviously had various website attacks ready for whoever Kerry picked and minutes after Edwards was announced, updated their site accordingly. Good for them. A nice sign of organisation and readiness. This is another case where people complaining should stop and think for a second about why they're discussing politics at all to begin with when they obviously don't understand it. Me, I'm not against criticising your opponent. You should do that. But do bear in mind that you should also be promoting yourself, not just saying "the other guy sucks ass!" That's only half a campaign and it's rather pathetic.

That's all I've got to say on the whole Kerry/Edwards thing for now. Give it some time and maybe I'll have more. You know, once they actually begin to somehow tell people what exactly it is they stand for. Seriously, does anyone know?