Chad's spot for various thoughts, musings, poetry, ideas and whatnot

Wednesday, September 22, 2004

I'm Getting Better...

Well, the good news is that whatever had me under the weather for the last week or so seems to have passed. I had good rides on Monday and Tuesday and recovered well without undue fatigue. The bad news is that my wife is showing the symptoms of whatever crud I had. At least I know it was something and not just some weird psychological letdown thing.

Six Gaps

Assuming Jeanne stays away I'll be heading up to North Georgia this weekend to ride the Six Gap Century. 14,000 feet of climbing over a 100 mile course. It'll be the hardest century I've ever done but it should be boatloads of fun. I had the bike shop 39 tooth front chain ring on the S-Works in place of the 42 so that I had easier gearing for the climb. Riding the 39 was a bit weird last night but I think it'll be OK.

Stupid Questions People Ask

Over the course of the last couple of weeks I've heard a lot of people asking why we're still talking about the Veitnam war. Well, duh? When a political candidate decides to use his war experience on his resume, so to speak, people are going to evaluate that. If John Kerry had just said I served and been done with it then this wouldn't be an issue. Instead he says that not only did he serve but he did so with distinction and that because of this he is more deserving of the office of President. You gotta figure that in the political arena, a claim like this will be challenged. That his campaign seems to have been caught off gaurd by this says something I think.

That we as a people want to use decisions someone made at the age of 18 or 25 as a gauge of their abilities in there forties says something not so good about us. I know that I did some things in my late teens and early twenties that I'm not real proud of. While they are a part of who I am that is more because of what I may or may not have learned from the experiences. When I interview for a job now I'm evaluated on what I would do today, not what I would have done then. I think there's a lot of irrelevant talk about what both candidates did during that time of their lives. Let's look at the men they are now and the leaders they are now.

A little advice to the Kerry campaign. You're not going to win this thing based on your service in Veitnam. Most people really don't give a hoot. That was over 30 years ago. Your record there and what you did following the war related to it are a mixed bag to those who do care. You can't win this thing on your record in the Senate either. Its too vague and indistinct. To say that you worked behind the scenes a lot doesn't show you to be the dynamic leader Americans want. John McCain can run on his Senate record. You can't. You can't attack Bush, it looks unpatriotic to attack the guy who stood on the rubble of the World Trade Center with the firefighters and gave them and the nation hope. What you've got to run on are your ideas. They need to be straightforward and, unfortunately, not nearly so nuanced. Joe Six-Pack doesn't care about some fifteen point plan to bring some jobs back to the US but not others. He wants a clear, easy to understand roadmap. If you're going to talk about the war on terror, do so with a simple message. Something like, "We are not safer because of the war on Iraq. We need to clearly allocate resources to the following three areas... Our goals and objectives are the following..." If Reagan were running he might ask, "Are you safer than you were three years ago because the war in Iraq? Do you feel more secure now than you did on September 12th? Are we going to be led into yet another war with faulty intelligence and a divided cabinet?" Finally, it's too late but don't be cute on Letterman or Leno. That may go over well with 18-35 year olds but most of them don't vote and more of those that do are Republicans. It's hard to look steely-eyed and resolute Tuesday when on Monday night you were cracking jokes with a guy who'll use you as monologue material on Wednesday.

But hey, if this political thing doesn't work out, I hear that CBS might be hiring.

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