In a government such as ours we have vigorous contests to determine who should lead. The recent election was no exception. Now we inaugurate a new government on a day that transcends any one individual or any one party.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
Elections are held to delude the populace into believing that they are participating in government.
I also know that there have been many times in our history when the proximity of an election has induced exactly the kind of leadership and consensus-building that produce progress in our democracy.
For the record, our democracy is revered around the world. And free elections are the best way on Earth to choose our leaders. This is how we elected John F. Kennedy; Ronald Reagan; two George Bushes; Bill Clinton; and Barack Obama. It has worked for decades.
Our form of government can no longer be considered an experiment in politics. Crowned with success, it stands forth an example to the world and exhibits the proudest triumph of reason and philosophy.
We must lead in a different way... We must have an active president, who gives strong direction and works with the government for its implementation.
Elections, for their part, are typically popularity contests rather than measures of candidates' relative competency or effectiveness. Imagine if scientific truth were determined according to which scientist was most popular. To be successful, scientists would have to be charismatic and attractive - and human knowledge would suffer terribly.
In some countries that are darlings of the West, like Egypt, everyone knows the result of national elections years in advance: The man in power always wins. In others, like Saudi Arabia, the very idea of an election is unthinkable.
In order to restore our country to the principles on which it was founded, we need to elect leaders that believe in the principles of the party, not just the power of the party.
Every democracy is constructed day-to-day. And the electoral process reduces and minimalizes every single aspect of human complexity. We're putting it into pamphlets. We're doing a publicity show. We're becoming symbols.
If an election is simply a one-day snapshot of transient mass delusions, then this is not a very noble form of government.