Why do people feel politicians are saviours ?

[blues90]

All these posts on who will win in 2008 , could a black win , could a women win . People have their right to post whatever they desire but these are just people .

There has not been one president to date that did not screw up more than they did for the better .

When one comes close they are murdered .

I have heard the same old crap for years about how they will heal the country , rid the country of poverty or racial issues , fix the taxes , the list of promises is endless .

Nothing has been fixed in over the 57 years I have been on this planet .

There is Gore who quit to save his future , there is Kerry who gave it up after the promise of counting all votes , there is Hillary who has the mission of being the first women president and Obama who came out of nowhere and is now touted as some sort of visionary rock star .

The people of this country are the ONLY ones who can make anything work , it is their actions and motives that make all possible . Laws are there to keep things in check not as solutions .

As long as the people in this country are ignorant and selfish and greedy , lazy and foolish and this is seen as passable then not one of these grand candidates are anything more than figure heads .

I know many will not agree . If you were sitting in the mess in New Orleans or the miss gulf coast or sitting homeless , you would not care and you are not cared about .

These politicians spend more money and time promoting themselves than it would take to fix most of the problems many now face and this is just one aspect that makes me sick about politicians .

[SaveElmer]

1. Not saviors generally...

Though I would argue Washington, Lincoln, and FDR were saviors of the country...and I would add Grant to that list in his role during the Civil War...

You say:

"There has not been one president to date that did not screw up more than they did for the better . "

This is certanly not true, even in the last 57 years...Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Clinton certainly do not belong in this category...

[blues90]

4. They had their problems

Most of all Truman who decided to bomb Japan

Eisenhower who re-orientated the defense budget toward the neclear weapons and began the interstate highway system .

Kennedy really did not have much time in office but he did show the most promise .

Clinton with don't ask don't tell and the passing of NAFTA not knowing who would win the next election and not seeing how this would turn out so badly being a economist .

Certainly they did some good things and with the exception of Kennedy they did more damage with the few things I listed than good .

[Kutjara]

2. I take your point but, to be fair...

...neither a black person nor a woman have ever had the chance to show what they would do. It's been monied white guys all the way.

Of course, the system is so rigged with special interests and power blocs that, by the time a candidate has made all the compromises necessary to secure the vast amounts of money required to land a seat in the Oval Office, their hands are effectively tied and it's just business as usual.

So no individual can do what's necessary without turning their back on their powerful backers, and it is a rare politician indeed who will do that.

Still, I'd settle for a President who did as little damage as possible. Maybe if we elected an actual chimpanzee, things would be better. If we'd done it six years ago, we wouldn't be in Iraq now.

[Warpy]

3. We socialists don't have that luxury

because we've never seen one of our own with a snowball's chance in hell of winning on the ticket.

We have to look at them all very carefully and assess what flavor of snake oil they're trying to sell us.

That constantly gets us into trouble with the people who need heroes. Well, folks, you're not going to find heroes running for office.

My asbestos lined flak suit will be on for the duration.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

5. "Pity the country that needs heroes." - Bertolt Brecht

Perhaps we're not as far from our antecedents, the chimpanzees, and similar primates who crave a "leader".