Monday, October 15, 2007
The Impartiality Principle and Gore
Last week, Al Gore, along with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on global warming. This makes the second time in our history that a former President or Vice President was awarded the prize (the first was Jimmy Carter). Now there is an effort, centered on DraftGore.com, to bring Mr. Gore in as a Democratic Presidential Candidate.
Right now here is how I rate the Democratic candidates:
1. Mike Kucinich - the best, because of his stands on Iraq, medical care, oil, and others. But he won't get nominated.
2. Barack Obama - appealing to all the people, and probably with some new ideas. But his low God Index (1.30, meaning a strong association with God) concerns me.
3. Joe Biden - probably won't be nominated, and has made several mistakes. But he seems more knowledgable than the others.
4. Bill Richardson - One of only a few candidates pledging to remove troops from Iraq. He seems likeable as well, and may have a knowledge of oil, since he once was the Energy Secretary.
5. John Edwards - I have downrated him because he mentioned God in a debate, and because he tried to shut out other Democratic candidates in a primary (along with Hillary Clinton). But he turned up with a high God index (meaning not much association) so maybe should be reconsidered.
6. Chris Dodd - May have good ideas at times but is not known well enough.
7. Mike Gravel - His videos may be interesting but the Presidency is not a joke. You don't just stare at the American people, throw a rock in the Potomac, and just walk away.
8. Hillary Clinton - Always has been the worst candidate, in my opinion. She is not a New Yorker, she is an Arkansan, for instance. Her announcement speech in the winter showed summer vegetation outside the window. She strikes me as being made out of plastic. Further, she does not want to consider hypotheticals, when it is hypotheticals that will greet her if she gets elected.
So where would Al Gore go on this list? Right up at the top! Maybe close to Kucinich. He has a high God index (4.25), he has White House experience, and he has shown an awareness for the Earth's problems, especially global warming. So naturally I would like to see him run. A lot of people would like to see him run. But he won't. Why won't he? Facetiously, maybe it's because he has a high Idiot Index. "Al Gore is an idiot" in Google has 12,700 hits, much more than any Presidential candidate and about the same as President Bush.
But I think instead that it is because of something I call the Impartiality principle. This is why candidates with great expectations disappoint us. It is why Lt Gen Sanchez has changed from supporting the Administration to speaking out against it. It is why conservative justices like Blackmun become more liberal. This is the principle: Try to express yourself as you really are, instead of supporting a boss. The boss can be your supervisor at work, or it can be the American electorate, in the case of Presidents, or the paying public, if you are a Hollywood movie director. To act in support of your boss instead of what you really want to support biases you.
That is why retired people are valuable. They have a chance to express themselves without having to pay homage to a boss. It is due to such a retiree that the extravagant trip of Lane Ramsey from Kansas to Chesterfield County in a Learjet, costing taxpayers $18,000, was exposed. If a retiree seeks to have a job again, he will lose his impartiality and become biased towards his supervisor.
The most well know retiree in this nation is probably Al Gore. How did you think he earned the Peace Prize? Because he followed what he thought was right. Do you think he would have earned the prize had he been elected President? Probably not. He would have had to deal with the American public on this issue and that. He would have had to amend his stance on global warming and the environment to ensure his reelectability and that of other Democratic candidates. He would have had to contend with advisors that may not be entirely in agreement with him. He would have been a different Al Gore. And that is probably the reason why Al Gore chooses not to run. It is because he wants to retain his impartiality.
This has sinister implications for our country and for all nations of the world. We will never have leaders that will do what needs to be done. Instead, they will always be kowtowing to their boss - the people of their country. That bodes ill for the future of our civilization.
Right now here is how I rate the Democratic candidates:
1. Mike Kucinich - the best, because of his stands on Iraq, medical care, oil, and others. But he won't get nominated.
2. Barack Obama - appealing to all the people, and probably with some new ideas. But his low God Index (1.30, meaning a strong association with God) concerns me.
3. Joe Biden - probably won't be nominated, and has made several mistakes. But he seems more knowledgable than the others.
4. Bill Richardson - One of only a few candidates pledging to remove troops from Iraq. He seems likeable as well, and may have a knowledge of oil, since he once was the Energy Secretary.
5. John Edwards - I have downrated him because he mentioned God in a debate, and because he tried to shut out other Democratic candidates in a primary (along with Hillary Clinton). But he turned up with a high God index (meaning not much association) so maybe should be reconsidered.
6. Chris Dodd - May have good ideas at times but is not known well enough.
7. Mike Gravel - His videos may be interesting but the Presidency is not a joke. You don't just stare at the American people, throw a rock in the Potomac, and just walk away.
8. Hillary Clinton - Always has been the worst candidate, in my opinion. She is not a New Yorker, she is an Arkansan, for instance. Her announcement speech in the winter showed summer vegetation outside the window. She strikes me as being made out of plastic. Further, she does not want to consider hypotheticals, when it is hypotheticals that will greet her if she gets elected.
So where would Al Gore go on this list? Right up at the top! Maybe close to Kucinich. He has a high God index (4.25), he has White House experience, and he has shown an awareness for the Earth's problems, especially global warming. So naturally I would like to see him run. A lot of people would like to see him run. But he won't. Why won't he? Facetiously, maybe it's because he has a high Idiot Index. "Al Gore is an idiot" in Google has 12,700 hits, much more than any Presidential candidate and about the same as President Bush.
But I think instead that it is because of something I call the Impartiality principle. This is why candidates with great expectations disappoint us. It is why Lt Gen Sanchez has changed from supporting the Administration to speaking out against it. It is why conservative justices like Blackmun become more liberal. This is the principle: Try to express yourself as you really are, instead of supporting a boss. The boss can be your supervisor at work, or it can be the American electorate, in the case of Presidents, or the paying public, if you are a Hollywood movie director. To act in support of your boss instead of what you really want to support biases you.
That is why retired people are valuable. They have a chance to express themselves without having to pay homage to a boss. It is due to such a retiree that the extravagant trip of Lane Ramsey from Kansas to Chesterfield County in a Learjet, costing taxpayers $18,000, was exposed. If a retiree seeks to have a job again, he will lose his impartiality and become biased towards his supervisor.
The most well know retiree in this nation is probably Al Gore. How did you think he earned the Peace Prize? Because he followed what he thought was right. Do you think he would have earned the prize had he been elected President? Probably not. He would have had to deal with the American public on this issue and that. He would have had to amend his stance on global warming and the environment to ensure his reelectability and that of other Democratic candidates. He would have had to contend with advisors that may not be entirely in agreement with him. He would have been a different Al Gore. And that is probably the reason why Al Gore chooses not to run. It is because he wants to retain his impartiality.
This has sinister implications for our country and for all nations of the world. We will never have leaders that will do what needs to be done. Instead, they will always be kowtowing to their boss - the people of their country. That bodes ill for the future of our civilization.
