Political thoughts for the day
How important is one vote?
In 1645, one vote gave Oliver Cromwell control of England.
In 1649, one vote caused Charles I of England to be executed.
In 1776, one vote gave America the English language instead of German.
In 1839, one vote elected Marcus Morton Governor of Massachusetts.
In 1845, one vote brought Texas into the Union.
In 1868, one vote saved President Andrew Johnson from impeachment.
In 1876, one vote changed France from a Monarchy to a Republic.
In 1876, one vote gave Rutherford B. Hayes the Presidency of the United States.
In 1923, one vote gave Adolph Hitler leadership of the Nazi Party.
In 1941, one vote saved Selective Services just 12 weeks before Pearl Harbor.
In 1960, John F. Kennedy won and Richard Nixon lost the presidential election by less than one vote per precinct.
In 1977, the mayor of Ann Arbor, Michigan was elected by one vote.
In 1999, an at-large alderman in the city of Somerville was elected by one vote.
Dennis Quixote: Kucinich is having a great time
Here is a great editorial from the conservative Union Leader this morning.
DENNIS KUCINICH has as much chance of winning the Presidency as he does of marrying the suddenly unattached Jennifer Lopez. Come to think of it, the odds of his wedding J-Lo are probably slightly higher.
Kucinich is not the most viable candidate (nor the least viable), and maybe that’s why he has felt free to say precisely what he thinks. We get the impression, however, that Kucinich’s principled message would be exactly the same no matter what.
Most people, if they have paid attention to Kucinich at all, have written him off as a flake. After all, his ideas are so far out of the mainstream that Willie Nelson has endorsed him. But Kucinich is not crazy. We’ve found him to be intelligent, thoughtful, clever, and more in touch with reality than he lets on.
While it is silly to consider him a serious contender for the White House, he is a serious person. And though he would make a terrible President, we have enjoyed his participation in the primary.
