Nobody who cares about America wants to see a bad president in the White House.  So  for those who may be voting for the first time but don’t know a heck of a lot about politics, what follows is a handy guide of do’s and don’ts for the coming election in November:

(1) Don’t vote for the person who simply smiles better or cuts a more dashing appearance.  Do vote for the person who appears more “real.”  Remember that boring old adage your elders told you, “Don’t judge a book by its cover?”  Well, guess what?  It’s true.  Demeanor and looks won’t produce  policies that will prevent terrorist attacks so you and your friends (or somebody else and their friends) don’t get incinerated — you know, like those poor people in far-away lands you see on TV every so often, or, for that matter, 3,000 of your fellow Americans on……now when was that day?….oh, yes, September 11….of course…..

(2) Don’t vote for the better talker.  Do vote for the one who knows what they’re talking about.   The purpose of hearing a speech is not to get your ears tickled.  It’s to glean what the speaker will do if elected.  Once you find that out, you can make an informed choice on whether the candidate deserves your vote.  

(3) Don’t vote for the one who “inspires” you more.  Do vote for the one whose ideas are better for the country and for the people you care about — including you.  If you want to hear a pep talk, hire a life coach.

(4) Don’t vote for the candidate who wields a tax club (or any other kind of club) to divide the rich against the poor or everybody else.  Do vote for the one whose policies work for the whole nation.   This is not the Middle Ages; it’s the modern interdependent world.  The shin bone’s connected to the ankle bone, so no matter who gets their taxes raised, others will get hurt, too.   No pity parties for the rich, but we don’t want to be biting our noses to spite our faces.  Friends don’t let friends vote for high taxes on anybody.   If the government’s devouring more than what’s coming in, raising the tax burden isn’t the answer.  What it needs is to go on a diet. 

(5) Don’t vote for a candidate who blames the messenger when the news is bad.  Do vote for a candidate who heeds the message, precisely when it is bad.   High gas prices are the messenger.  So what’s the message?   Not enough oil and too many people wanting to buy  oil.  And the answer?   For the consumer — buy less of it.  (Do we really have a choice?)For the folks who produce it — In the short run, let them drill for more oil — unless you enjoy emptying your wallet with every trip to the pump.  And in the long run, well, you know the rest — alternative energy. 

This is a good start.  Privileged person that you are, you are among the few human beings in history who actually will have a say in choosing who the most powerful person in the world will be starting next January.  So consider these things between now and Election Day.

Bill Richardson’s promise of government-mandated universal health care may well have foundered on “fiscal and economic reality” (as National Review puts it), but it’s another aspect of the debacle which ought to be a wake-up call for everyone:

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Michelle Obama, who used to work for one of the most prestigious law firms in America, told a group of young supporters at a local day-care center they should avoid the professions and “corporate America” and instead pursue careers as social workers and so forth.

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He left out Charlie Rangel, unfortunately. Clip from the CNBC story (which includes the video):

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From London’s Evening Standard: Sir Richard Branson does it again.

The Virgin Galactic spacecraft, which was being unveiled in New York today, is already under construction. Test flights are expected to begin in June, with commercial flights starting 12 months later.

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When even the leftwing Fortune magazine is forced to admit — and indeed, proclaim — that Hillary’s “modest proposal” to freeze interest rates (a move straight out of Stalin’s Five-Year Plans) would completely wreck America’s housing market, you know the plan’s bad. It’s worse than they say it is. But you just have to read what they say.

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To: Republican Candidates for President

From: Your Friendly Republican Base (most of us, at least)

Date: Now

Re: How to Win our Support

(1) To John McCain: We like your courage and prescience on foreign policy, particularly Iraq. You’re acceptable on (continue reading post »)

A quarterly poll of financial advisers around the country finds that 22 percent indicated having a Democrat president worried them more than concerns such as global unrest, a terrorist attack or a recession.

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The leftist media doesn’t just hate George Bush: it constantly tells us how terrible everything is in our country (e.g., it’s breathless reporting of Bill Clinton’s insanely dishonest contention that the economy in 1992 was “the worst economy in 50 years”), unless of course a Democrat is in the White House, in which case that same Bill Clinton could probably have raped a goat on the White House lawn and seen his approval ratings go up “because the economy is so good.”

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Maybe. The Independent certainly thinks so, and makes a decent case, which although (in my humble opinion) premature and overly focused on economics (as similar discussions of Japan were in the 1980s), certainly represents the shape of things to come.