2 thoughts on “Your Next President”

1. I have no problem whatsoever with people changing their minds when factual evidence proves their previous assumptions incorrect. I think that being proven wrong should be considered a *good* thing, because when a person is proven wrong, their individual knowledge is increased. It is a sign of intellectual maturity when a person changes their views when evidence challenges them.

   In fact, I would prefer a president who can change his or her stances on certain issues when the facts show that he or she is incorrect or on the wrong side of an issue, rather than a president who is stubborn and impervious to factual evidence. Some people call this type of stubbornness "conviction"; I call it obstinately ignoring the facts.

   If Romney were to change his mind about some subject or matter of contention based on scientific indications, I would not care at all; actually, I would applaud him for doing so. However, Romney doesn’t seem to be changing his mind based on evidence–I’m not sure he’s changing his mind at all. This is why Romney scares me so much: it just can’t be determined where he stands on a given issue. He just seems to pander to and agree with whoever he needs to in order to advance his agendas.

   I also question his motives for becoming President. He already has upwards of a quarter of a billion dollars. What more could he want? Power for power’s sake? Why put yourself through the stress of a presidential campaign, or the presidency for that matter? If he really wanted to make a difference, he would spread some of that fortune around to those in need or invest it in a sustainable future, rather than hoarding it tax-free offshore bank accounts. Personally, I could never hoard that much money. It would take many lifetimes for me to spend that much money on material possessions. I would use wealth of that magnitude to help people in need.

   I think that it would be devastating for the country (and the rest of the planet) if Romney were to take office. I shudder to think of it. What really scares me is that there are *millions* of people who are going to vote for him, win or lose. That’s a scary thought in and of itself.

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2. @Mack – You might say that Romney changes his opinions based upon data: poll results.

   There have been suggestions that the main reason Romney does not wish to release more tax returns is that it will show that he is actually a billionaire and he thinks this would look bad in his campaign. I think if he were Bill Gates wealthy, then he might be happy with being the great man throwing crumbs to the little people. (You people!) But with his amount of money, he could only be a minor player in that game. What do you give the man who has everything? The presidency.

   What most worries me about Romney is that he really doesn’t particularly believe anything other than that he should be president. But like most men who become president, once there he would only do what his backers want. Obama is an object lesson: don’t even say the most lightly critical thing about your funders (Once!) or they will turn against you. I would hate Romney regardless, but given that he would certainly have a Republican congress it is frightening in the extreme. On the other hand, I’ve never lived in a banana republic, so it could be interesting.

   "When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?" -John Maynard Keynes

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