Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" took the Palme d'Or award at Cannes this weekend. I wonder how much of that win was an anti-Bush statement than a statement about his work. No doubt Moore is a talented director and I haven't seen his film, but this is the first documentary to take that award since 1956. Since then there have been tons of great documentaries made and, having already said I haven't seen this one yet, I'd have to think Moore's can't be the best of them. Either way, it's a strong statement as to how the world feels about President Bush and what his administration is doing in Iraq and at home. Just here in Seattle there are a number of groups aimed at getting him out of office such as Driving Votes and No Vote Left Behind. So it makes me wonder where President Bush is getting all his support.
Well I guess that answer is easy if you leave the liberal enclave that is Seattle. According to the polls on RealClear Politics, Kerry only has a 4% point lead in Washington state. In California, he only has a 1% point lead. Out of the 36 states polled on the site, Bush leads in 19.5 of them, with the .5 being a tie in Arkansas. A good number of these states he has double digit leads and even an astounding 45% point lead in Utah.
The polls on PollingReport.com provide even more interesting information. A larger percentage of people believe that Bush is better able to handle the situation in Iraq and Terroism than John Kerry. 53% feel that President Bush says what he believes while 61% feel that John Kerry say what he thinks people want to hear. 44% of people polled have confidence in Bush's ability to deal wisely with an international crisis while only 39% believe the same about John Kerry. This, in my mind, is an astounding number considering prior to taking office President Bush had no real international experience as Governor of Texas, not to mention the current boondoggle we're currently in in Iraq.
This just goes to show that if there's an important time to vote, it's in this upcoming election. According to the U.S. Census Bureau the 2000 election, only 60% of the citizen population 18 and older voted. Only 70% of the citizen population is registered to vote. That's an incredible number. 30% of the citizens in this country aren't even registered. That's almost one in three people. If you look around your office, nearly a third of them might not be registered. Only 52.4% of my fellow Asian Americans are registered to vote. I'm embarrassed by that number and implore the remaining 47.6% to register. All I have to say is if you aren't at least registered to vote and you're a citizen of this country, you have no right to complain about anything that is going on. It's your duty to take part in the democratic process. Our country is great because we have the ability to have a peaceful regime change every 4 years and every person can affect change with their vote. If you aren't registered, register...now.
Dude, how'd I get on this soapbox?
No comments:
Post a Comment