Elections? Does It Really Make a Difference??

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There's a cynic in me. 

And that cynic makes me wonder if it really matters who wins elections.  So many elections promises, platforms etc are just lies.

I'm among the  political pundits, who write and write and worry and read all about the candidates, whether here in Israel or in the United States, and there are many more whose expertise is other countries...

Don't get me wrong.  I do enjoy it, and I love looking at history, including way back when to the Bible for similarities, parallels etc.

But too often, no matter what the politicians promise and who we think they are, we are terribly disappointed.

Now, why is it that we can't trust the politicians? 

• They'll say anything to get elected.  The job/aim of a politician is to get elected.  Remember that candidates and office holders have a staff of speechwriters and even bring in specialists for certain events.  Those writers write material that will get lots of applause and a healthy supply of laughter to suit the occasion.  Frequently, especially for special events, a politician will make a speech that is far removed from his/her policy. US President George Bush II gave a fantastic speech when in Israel a number of years ago.  It bore no relationship to how he and his his government had been treating Israel before and after.  My guess and research showed that it had probably been written by the brilliant Jewish writer Elie Weisel.
• The "Yes, Minister" syndrome.  "Yes, Minister" was a brilliant British political satire seen for years, later called "Yes, Prime Minister," on television.  Its message is that the government is really run by the permanent civil servants, and the elected official has no real power to make any change that isn't approved of by his/her "assistant."

• You can't trust anybody!  After the late Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin's "Sinai surprise, when he shocked his supporters and the world by offering  Egypt the Sinai in exchange for a very fragile peace.  Begin broke a longstanding Israeli principle when he destroyed Yamit and agricultural communities in the Sinai.  The Left would never have dared to do it.
• Once elected, forget the promises.  For decades, candidates for American office have made pilgrimages to Israel and promise to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem.  This list goes as far back as Richard Nixon, 1972.  Before the 1967 Six Days War, American politicians hadn't realized that Americans cared about Israel. 

So even though I, as a politics-addict, just can't stop writing about elections, I know too well that it's all just a bluff, a very expensive series of lies and cons.  Politicians are hustlers and egomaniacs.  And with the success of Barack Hussein Obama, America now has a frontman who was chosen, groomed and trained to win elections.

PS  If you want to read some of my favorite political writers, (they don't all agree with me) all female for some strange reason....

Arlene Kushner
Caroline Glick
Ruthie Blum Ruthie doesn't have a site of her own.  She posts links of her latest on facebook and twitter.  She writes twice a week for Israel Hayom in English, which doesn't have a listing of articles by their writers.