Thank you for taking the time to write such a fantastic comment!

I agree with you 100% about what Lincoln said.

I think what bothers me (other than Bush) is the American Democratic system itself. It is not as democratic as one might think. This issue of Presidential Veto is one such example. Congress members are directly elected but the President institution is swayed by super delegates who have more than one electoral vote when appointed the nominee after the primary elections. So why should he have the final check if he got there by a less-than-democratic method? I’m not sure.

The second thing that bothers me is that once he is in he just appoints his golf buddies as his cabinet. Very strange.

If you get a chance you might be interested in the Australian system. Here we have an election where we elect the members of parliament (congress). The party who gets the most representatives in the congress forms the Government and they appoint a Prime Minister from the party. So not only is the PM elected to a seat by the people, he is also selected by the representatives of the people. And unlike the USA he sits in Congress and has to defend/promote his Bills if he wants them passed.

Anyway - thank you for your comment. I really enjoyed it!

TDM

While I agree with your sentiment, I must add something: the veto power is a check on Congress. One may believe that a President should or should not be in office, but once in office he has the power to veto legislation. This power is unquestionably a Constitutionally delegated presidential power. If a bill has broad based support throughout the country it could get passed through a two-thirds supermajority of both houses of Congress over the president’s veto.

I find it abhorrent that stem-cell research is not pursued vigorously by our government. I do not agree with the current president’s politics. With that said, we must respect the laws and work to effect change however we can: be it at the community, local, state, or federal level. Lincoln said (and Socrates would agree): “When I so pressingly urge a strict observance of all the laws, let me not be understood as saying there are no bad laws, nor that grievances may not arise, for the redress of which, no legal provisions have been made.–I mean to say no such thing. But I do mean to say, that, although bad laws, if they exist, should be repealed as soon as possible, still while they continue in force, for the sake of example, they should be religiously observed.” Even though W. is a hated and embarrassing dolt to most of us we should not undermine the authority granted him by the Constitution because we want that power reserved for future, good presidents (Senator Obama perhaps?).

Great article. I agree wholeheartedly and in total with the rest of it!

TDM

Does it mean we are heading to the Darkside (not literally)? Star Wars does have some wonderful quotes and that’s why I love the series, not only is it a fun fantasy world movie, but it also contains a lot of life lessons and wisdom of this world.

bigwinner - He also drew a lot from Buddhism. I know the lama he met and based Yoda’s character on. He passed away about 20 years ago. I’ll try and find a photo cos he looks exactly the same!

TDM

Also,cross reference what Han said in EP IV, with Yoda’s speech about the Force in EP V. There is a strong sense of faith (of one kind or another) in all of the SW movies.

Bob - Exactly.

Shane - Thanks for the comments. Why was it crap? Care to elaborate?

Karl - I agree about the checks and balances. Even within the Jedi Council there were no checks and balances. Yoda was too powerful and as such Obi-Wan was able to train someone he never should have. Perhaps…

The OtherGuy - Oooppss… can’t believe I made that mistake!

Thanks for the comments guys.

TDM