I was sitting at my computer the other day, procrastinating and looking out the window, when I swear I saw a pig fly by.
Oh wait – I’m sorry, I’m confused. I meant Arnold Schwarzenegger was sworn in as the governor of California.
Does anybody else think this is as nuts as I do? The last time I checked, being an overpaid, second-rate actor did not qualify a person for office. Apparently, the majority of voters in California were on their way home from their lobotomies, or they thought that having multiple box-office hits makes a man a great leader.
Okay, there are some of you out there who think I’ve made up my mind too quickly based on too few facts.
You’re probably right.
How many facts do I need to tell me that “Conan the Barbarian,” a man who could hardly answer any questions about his political platform at the beginning of his campaign (which I took to mean that someone had to tell him what to think before he could think it), is not a qualified representative for the densely populated state of California?
To demonstrate I am not alone in thinking the situation in California is as close to mass lunacy as you can get, an untitled, anonymous Oct. 11 editorial in the New York Times states, “The actor who owns Hummers that average 10 miles to the gallon has now been elected governor of a state that has long provided national leadership on environmental issues, especially those like clean air and more fuel-efficient automobiles.” Environment- conscious Guilford should appreciate the author’s sentiment.
The “Terminator” pays a man to detail the inside of his multiple Hummers with make-up brushes that cost hundreds of dollars. I guess all the hungry people have been fed and all the children have been clothed. What else should he do with his money?
Okay, former child star Gary Coleman was probably not a much better option than Ah-nold, but what about the other candidates who were experienced? Let’s look at the Green Party candidate, Peter Miquel Camejo. This is a man who marched with Martin Luther King Jr. in the ’60s. Besides being a published author (his most recent book was The SRI Advantage: Why Socially Responsible Investing Has Outperformed Financially), Camejo helped form the Environmental Justice Fund, an organization that helps to finance and unify environmentalists of color. While Schwarzenegger worked on his golden tan, Camejo was helping to set up organic farming in Nicaragua.
Am I being too harsh? Maybe, but that’s not the point. The fact is California’s voters have made a huge mistake. The one thing that helps me sleep, however, is my knowing that he’ll never become president. There are talks of amending the Constitution to allow a person who is not a natural born citizen to run for president, but I’m not worried.
The United States would never elect an actor to run the country.