The Cosmopolitan Blog

Well, i never considered myself an anarchist, but here you have it. I’m boycotting something. I’m boycotting CNN. Their tag line is “the most trusted name in news”. Seriously? How can we trust you, if you refuse to acknowledge that there are other countries out there. Dear CNN, did you know that the world does not, actually, revolve around the USA? That there are a few billion of us who don’t actually give a damn if we miss yet another Obama/Clinton debate? That taking a break from reporting on the primaries to spend 7 days talking about the New York governor’s affair is not actually good news reporting?

I used to fervently believe that Obama was the best democratic choice. Politics used to fascinate me. And now, CNN has single-handedly managed to turn me off politics. Maybe it’s cuz i’m generation X and i have the attention span of a goldfish, but seriously, a contest that lasts over 6 months, really, i promise you, looses steam very, very quickly.

Here is my plea to CNN, in the name of cosmopolitanism. We live on Earth. Earth is comprised of many countries. Each country, believe it or not, has newsworthy events. In order to up the awareness and IQ of your people, reporting on what is happening in other countries might actually be a good thing. Oh, and then, if you even spend just 10 minutes per hour reporting on what else is happening around the world, well then, maybe you could make a bold claim like being “the most trusted name in news”… And no, good looking anchors like Anderson Cooper not longer dissipate my anger.

But what makes me so mad (you know, like even MADDER than i was in the paragraph above!), and, unfortunately, i can’t really blame it on CNN, is the fact that i feel like we’re the only ones to see that the longer the democrats fight it out, the more power they’re giving to the republicans. I made a prediction on this blog a few months back, and i continue to maintain it. At the time, there were other democratic candidates, and i had said, if either Hillary or Obama get the nomination, then i guarantee the next POTUS will be a republican. I still believe that. Only time will tell, but in this case, pleeeease can time just hurry the hell up?

So it struck me today, as I watched CNN pretty much all morning… In the Republican party, the choice is now down to McCain versus Huckabee, right? (Although some would argue, the race is pretty much already won by McCain)… But lets say, for 1 second, that there is a still a choice.

I’ve been listening to their rhetoric this morning and I realize, the choice is really depressing. Either you go with McCain, who is a lot more middle of the road on many issues (that’s his plus point in my eyes) such as economy and immigration, but whose only interest, you can tell from his ads, is to be commander in chief and fight an even stronger “war on terror” by invading Iran and probably North Korea next. OR you go with Huckabee who is not so gung-ho on invading the world, but on the other hand, is determined to bring his faith into everything he does, as I saw him this morning, preaching in the church Jerry Falwell used to.

I am so glad I am not someone who has to make the choice between a military president and a religious president! But then, who knows? Maybe these ideals are what makes a republican? But can you just imagine if, as i think it may go, McCain becomes president and Huckabee becomes Vice-President?? …and we thought we had it bad with George W. Bush! Hang on America, you’re in for a rough ride!

This is really not helping the general US ego. They already think that the world revolves around them, and now, what sucks is that the world does actually revolve around the US. The way they talk about the elections (ok, granted, i’m in Canada, it’s hardly very far away) on TV, you’d think it was everyone’s elections. I haven’t met someone who doesn’t know about Hillary and Barack. The republican race may be less known across the planet however, since the candidates haven’t yet been raised to celebrity status. Speaking of celebrities, i just heard that Fred Thompson (actor from Law and Order, that’s how i know him, anyway), just announced that he was dropping out of the race.

Last time around (2004), it was already bad enough, everywhere we looked there was a debate between Kerry and Bush, but at least, i feel like we were spared the primaries. And sure, in 2000, well, we all know that Bush rigged the votes and Al Gore should have been president, so, again, that had our attention.

But the primaries? Really? Seriously? We have to get involved this early in the process? It’s not, you realize, until this time next year, that the next president is sworn in… I heard on CNN that, during the New Hampshire primary, one of the voters expressed the fact that he wouldn’t vote, because he’s already so over it, and it’s overkill, he doesn’t want to go out and vote, so a bit of a backlash there.

I supposed the good news is, the more we spend time talking about the future president, the less W. is getting facetime… Which might explain why he hasn’t been feeling the love recently, and decided to give every US citizen and $800 tax rebate in the form of a check in their mailbox… Can someone say blackmail? Hey, W! You got a reputation and historical legacy you’re trying to salvage?

The thing is, like it or not, you gotta care. Like it or not, the news of possible US recession just sent the markets reeling this past week. The few shares I follow have hit rock bottom, and one’s not even in the US and is in one of the most stable industries you can get!

So, then, I ask you this. The question that’s on everyone’s lips: are Americans more racist or sexist? Are they more ready to vote for a woman or a Black man? Shame Oprah didn’t join the race, but seeing she’s Black AND she’s a woman, I think THAT, somehow is still a decade away (in my estimate) from being acceptable in such a bigotted, conservative and puritan country.

Personally, i think they’re more ready for a woman, although Barack has my Canadian vote. But here’s the truth. I honestly don’t think they’re ready for either. That is, they WILL pick either the woman or the black man, and that person will be the party’s nominee. But when it comes down to voting for the leader of the free world, my opinion is, come November 08, the Americans will chicken out, and decide not to vote for the Democrat candidate, they won’t want the woman or the Black man, and, therefore, by default, the votes will go to the Republican nominee.

So here it is: I predict that the next president of the United States will be a Republican again.

Anyway, whether you’re glued to your TV set or whether you wish the US would disappear off the face of the planet for a while, let me know what you think. There’s a new poll up (see right hand side), i hope you vote, you can select up to 5 answers.