I remember the "Snoopy for President" campaigns, complete with buttons, posters and bumper stickers. What I do not remember is anything about his political platform. What did he stand for? What problems did he see and how did he propose to solve them?
Here on the "Left Coast," we Californians now have our second actor governor. Remember Ronnie? He was pretty popular too. Our track record with actors is every bit as good as our history with lawyer-politicians, maybe even better. Considering all the pretending that our political leaders do, aren't they just actors anyway? Maybe with more "credentials".
And speaking of seconds, we are in the middle of our second term in a second Bush Administration (Bush senior dropped the ball and did not get a second term), full of second-best ideas. And before y'all get bent out of shape on my picking on the president, I never vote the party line. I'm just another dissatisfied customer at this point. The election results indicate a few more like me.
This cartoon was sent to me by the artist/satirist Ron P. Overmyer (www.hollywooddog.com) and I thought it expressed not just Bush senior's sentiments but also the nation's.
So how does all this campaigning effect the economy? It seems to me it keeps a lot of people employed and businesses humming along. While businesses are rewarded for solving problems, politicians seem to be rewarded for not solving anything. Most of the time we re-elect our congressmen. We just think your congressmen is a thief and/or an idiot.
So what if Hollywood Dog ran for president" Hillary Clinton and John McCain have been in many more editorial cartoons than Mr. Overmyer's Hollywood Dog has, and they are still hopeful.
It would be good for the economy if Hollywood Dog also ran. Even if he would be an "also-ran." I think we should have at least one two-dimensional figure (to contrast our three-dimensional figures), run for president every term. Can you imagine the great debates?
A more serious idea: If we ever see presidential debates again, let's let the editorial cartoonists ask the questions instead of journalists and television personalities. The questions would certainly be more biting (pun intended) and I would like to see these observers start to participate not just hide behind their pens and markers.
Elections and campaigns are not just about democracy, they are big business. They promote many industries and afterward there is a big lull. So maybe if midterm elections are a stimulus to the economy we should promote continuous elections and campaigning.....ugh!
I take that back. I think we have that now. Come this January the 2008 presidential election will start in earnest. Remember Earnest? I think he ran, too. So what do all you dogs out there think? Should Hollywood Dog be running, putting his paw in the race? Can he finish strong. Would it help the economy? Should Overmyer do it for the country? Is there much competition? What should the Dog include in his platform?
Interested in reading more? Check out my other posts for Blogging Stocks here.
Disclosure: Warning to parents: Hollywood Dog (TM) is NR for not rated, but it should be.
Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the vice president for Design and Research of an Architecture & Planning firm.
Closing Bell: Economic Catapult for Thanksgiving & Black Friday (WMT, TGT, GRMN, GOOG, MSFT)
Deere up on Q4 earnings performance
Reid Hoffman: LinkedIn will go public (at some point)
