Apathy anyone...?

We are facing a rather large political crisis in Canada...Apathy.

I know this isn't a new problem, but its one that seems to be affecting a growing number of people, and its not even confined just to my generation anymore.

The Liberal and Conservative parties are in a virtual tie right now, both hovering around 30%, with the NDP at about 15%, the Greens right behind them and the Bloc polling at about 40% in Quebec.

I think this is due to the leaders of these parties, and the fact that not one of them inspires me to do a thing politically, and I already have a deep investment in the process. What does this mean for the rest of the folks in this country, the uninitiated ones looking for something, or someone, to grab them and make them want to get involved?

Apathy...that's what...

The polling I mentioned above has barely moved a tick since the time Stephane Dion became leader of the Liberals in late 2006. Dion is easily the most ineffective federal leader the Liberals have ever had and is pretty much a sure bet to be the first Liberal leader never to sit in 24 Sussex Drive. His poor command of the English language, as well as possessing the personality of a KFC wetnap may have something to do with this.

Stephen Harper on the other hand, is a very shrewd politician, and I give him respect as such, but he has done nothing to move ahead of the drip his only political competition has served up, leaving him and his party languishing in minority status, probably for a long time. If he is unable to capitalize on the absolute gift that is Stephane Dion's incompetence, what is going to happen when the Liberals get a capable leader? Someone like Michael Ignatieff, or Bob Rae would blow him out of the water. Stephen Harper is a smart man, with policies that I simply don't agree with, but he can't inspire anyone or anything.

Jack Layton, while I absolutely love his candor and personality, gives off this air of a used car salesman. This is something you've probably read before, because its been said numerous times before, but I honestly think that if Jack was a Liberal, he'd be sitting at Sussex right now, and not with a handful of seats and dwindling time in the spotlight. Jack has the ability to inspire, but the NDP does not, as people see it as a waste of a vote, and a completely un-viable party federally. Jack's going into his fourth election, and while he has grown the base and support of his party, and brought it back from also-ran status, it will never be viable in a federal election, and that's all that really matters at the end of the day.

Elizabeth May. I like her passion, but the Greens, bleh, maybe in two or three decades they'll have a dozen seats, but now, with their leader running in an almost un-winnable riding against Peter McKay, the leadership structure falling apart and resigning, they don't have a shot. They're seen as a joke, and who's inspired by a joke?

I look down to the US, and I see a man like Barack Obama, who inspires me immensely, and I don't even live in his country, or vote in his country. The men and women that do run my country, the country I do vote in and the country which I hope to someday play a hand in running myself, don't have a tenth of what Sen. Obama has. A politician like him, up here, would have an absolute field day.

So what're we left at the end of the day folks, a dud, a robot, a used car salesman and a hippy idealist...any of these inspire you, or are you feeling rather...what's the word...

Apathetic...?

The Kennedys and the Endorsements

The Kennedy's are as close to royalty in the US as you can get. And no matter what, no matter how far we are from the JFK era, their voice, and their opinion matters, and is heard by millions upon millions of people.

So when Caroline and Ted Kennedy come out and support a Presidential candidate, people listen. And I'm not quite sure if you've heard, as it hasn't at all been blasted across every news channel and website, but the Kennedys have thrown their rather hefty weight (no pun intended Ted) behind Barack Obama.

This is another big name, big ticket endorsement for Mr. Obama, along with the likes of John Kerry, Patrick Leahy, Governor of Arizona Janet Napolitano, Governor of Massachusetts Deval Patrick, and Governor of Kansas Kathleen Sebelius, who delivered the Democratic response to the State of the Union speech last night. These are powerful figures, and throw the Kennedys on top, and you've got a tsunami of weight behind you.

There is a problem that I can see with so many important Democratic stalwarts backing Obama, and it stems from his main campaign issue, change.

The issue of change seems to be all that can be talked about during this race. Who's changed things in the past, who's prepared to make change happen in the future. Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes, as sung by David Bowie, is all people seem to care about, and rightly so. Eight more years of the Bush-style status quo could leave us ready to collapse.

Barack does seem best suited to bring the important and groundbreaking change to Washington, as he has not been in the town long enough to really be pulled in by the subversive undertow of it all, but are endorsements from people that have done little more than maintain the status quo for decades really what he needs to prove he is the right man for this type of job?

I do think that Obama getting these types of nods is important, as the main problem people have with him isn't the substance of his words, as it is with most politicians, but the amount of experience he brings to the table. If Americans are hearing that people they already trust, such as the Kennedys, trust this man to run the nation, lots of those fears begin to evaporate.

It is a very shrewd political move for Obama to make, as he knows he needs to allay fears of his inexperience by having lots of familiar faces shake his hand and take a picture. But he has also loaded his staff with new faces, people that can bring a fresh perspective.

I do believe in the long run these endorsements will do Obama a world of good, as long as they don't start to make people disbelieve the message of change that he is bringing.

South Carolina Caucuses

Well it looks like Barack Obama has won the South Carolina caucuses, and quite handily too. There was a lot of talk before this ballot that the black voters in South Carolina were going to play a big role in determining the winner of this contest, and also would set a tone for the rest of the race, in terms of race.

Hillary and Barack have been jockeying for the support of this minority group almost throughout their entire campaigns, and both see that support (rightly so) as vital to winning the Democratic nomination and the eventual election in November. Black women have supposedly had the toughest choice, as there are two groundbreaking candidates that they can both sympatize with.

Now, as a white male, I understand I may not be the best person to talk about these kinds of factors in terms of voting, as I obviously don't grasp what its like to be a black woman, but I hope and figure that more goes into the process than someone's skin color or gender when it comes time to choose the man or woman to lead the US out of the George W. Bush disaster and restore faith in the US around the world.

Just to make it straight, I personally think Barack Obama is the only person, man or woman, in the race that can do that.

This win in South Carolina today shows a lot of things. Namely, Barack Obama has the support of the black community, at least in this state, as he secured 80% of the votes from those considered African American and is also polling up to 20% higher nationally than Hillary among this group, last I saw. Another large point to make here is that he can also make in-roads with white, southern voters. This is big, because it means that even in the South, where racism still runs hot, a black man can secure the votes to take one more step to the Presidency. That is a big deal, and one I hope the rest of the people out there that base their vote on someone's color or heritage will listen to. The world is passing those by that still hold these types of prejudices, and the faster, the better.

Barack Obama means change, and today, we saw that change put into action. Only Super Tuesday remains in front of us, and in about 10 days, we're going to answer the question of whether a black man can actually be a viable candidate for the Presidency.

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