Control: Presidential Blues

I, Dalton Lewis, tried. I really tried. I tried to watch a debate in which the presidential candidates explained to America who would be the best candidate for president of the United States of America. I didn’t get very far before turning the fucking thing off. I mean — these guys don’t seem very presidential. They seem petty and mean. They snipe at each other. They are white people calling other white people racist — something I hate beyond all else in life.

They just seem so petty and superficial. I don’t understand or agree with any of them. Bernie Sanders wants better socialist policies. I think that sounds fine. He wants to pay for people’s education. That’s good too. Sounds good. People say that he’s not electable. People say that the public doesn’t want a socialist candidate. I think that if he is the best candidate then it doesn’t matter if he is left or middle; he would then be the clear choice.

Amy Klobuchar wants to be the middle candidate. She says that she can win, that she was Senator from a Midwestern swing state, and that she can fight for the traditional centrist values: better economy and cheaper health care. She is more moderate in that she doesn’t promise Medicare for all or college education for all. She does want to fight climate change, tax the rich, and allow in more refugees. She isn’t completely centrist. I think that she should stand up for herself instead of trying to please everyone.

Mike Bloomberg wants to get things done. He’s a practical manager. He also has the best record of management and proving that he can improve the hard-line statistics, like high school graduation rate and murder rate. One rose; the other fell. He managed New York City effectively. He helped education. He reduced crime. He does the management stuff correctly. He may not be flashy or charming, but he’s an effective organizer.

Elizabeth Warren wasn’t expected to win, isn’t expected to win, and yet produces the most plans and knows the most about the job and the necessary knowledges. She’s smart. She’s clever. She has a plan for everything. She wants to help people who get ripped off. She wants to have better people at each level of government assignment. I don’t think that she will win, but she’s a go-getter.

Pete Buttigieg fights hard for someone who is only 38 and has only been mayor of a medium-sized city. He fights hard against homophobia. He fights hard for himself. He wants to be great. He fights to make sure everyone coordinates and is on the same page. He wants to unify the left and the middle and the right and wants less partisan politics. That’s great. I worry about a 38 year-old who doesn’t know the highest level of politics required in Washington, DC.

Joe Biden was vice-president. That’s his campaign. That’s his message: I’ve done vice-president for Barack Obama. I worked for an excellent president and a good person. I’m a moderate. I’m the electable one. I won’t change things so much. I’m establishment. Frankly — I’m trying to be neutral but it’s hard. I just think that there’s something wrong with the establishment choice. I don’t know — he’s charming but I don’t know.

I have to choose between these choices. I admire some of them, but I don’t yet love any of them. I don’t know. I think that we need to coordinate and have a government that gets things done.

Thanks, and take care, friends.