"The Next President?"

Thirty second sound bytes, short personality television spots, and short blurbs in newspapers and magazines seem to be what the average American voter uses to make his decision in the voting booth.

Way back in the "olden days", people were more interested in the real beliefs of candidates for public office. Good looks, smooth talk, funny stories and catch phrases didn't fly so well at the birth of the American system of government.

Each day, I receive "Founders Quotes" from my lovely wife on my e-mail. I urge my readers to check these out. Men like Washington. Jefferson, Franklin and Thomas Paine certainly had a lot more to say than today's crop of pseudo- intellectuals that masquerade as statesmen. Back then, there were no speech writers, or pollsters taking the pulse of the voters, to see what will be the popular position. Perhaps it was because the leaders of the past were not career politicians trying to preserve their jobs on the public payroll. Perhaps they weren't in love with the power of public office and more in love with freedom and justice. Back then, our Constitution was more than a suggestion, it was the law of the land, not open to interpretation. Back then, public service meant to serve the public; not to be served by the public! Where are those leaders now!?

Last June, South Carolina had its' primary elections. Much to the surprise of democrats across the state, a man named Alvin Greene won the primary. He received 60% of the votes cast, an overwhelming number, a mandate from an informed electorate! The only problem with this to the democrats is that nobody had a clue as to who Alvin Greene was! He spent virtually no money on his campaign other than the fee to put his name on the ballot. Perhaps this was a brilliant tactic. If no one knows anything about you, they can't criticize you. Let's see what we can find out about Alvin Greene. Alvin is 32 years old, he was in the Air National Guard where he was involuntarily discharged, and he is unemployed. He has been charged with felony obscenity charges for showing pornography to a University of South Carolina student. I believe Alvin has some character issues. I believe Alvin's opponent, Jim DeMint, will have a fairly easy campaign to run this fall.

The point of this is to show how ill- informed the American voter is today. We are influenced by television spots and catch phrases. Campaign posters and You-Tube videos are more important than what we need to know about our prospective leaders. Maybe we will ask what "Change" means before we run headlong into it before the next election. Alvin Greene is the poster boy for checking out our candidates; but he is the obvious one. How many unqualified candidates slip through the cracks? How many others have issues of character? Be careful America or Alvin could end up in the White House!