Earn my trust, earn my vote

[Padraig18]

The American Heritage Dictionary defines trust as "Firm reliance on the integrity, ability, or character of a person or thing." I’m not sure I agree that reliance on ability is always a necessary part of trust, but reliance on the integrity and character of someone you trust is essential to that relationship.

For me, you trust someone when you trust his or her motives. Integrity, character and even ability can all be a part of the formula, but if you have misgivings, doubts, or strong suspicions that you’re not getting the whole story behind someone’s actions, you don’t have trust. A person can be intelligent, likable, skilled, hard-working, successful, generous and loyal and still not be trustworthy. As I apply my definition to a random sample of present and past relationships I become even more certain that this definition of trust is simple and complete. It accurately describes the most important observation I make when I form an opinion about someone.

I have decided to cast my vote in the Presidential election for that candidate who does the best job of earning my trust.

I want to state emphatically that complete ideological concurrence is not a critical component of trust, for me. I differ in a number of fundamental, philosophical ways with several of my most trusted friends and even with my s/o, whom I dearly love and trust implicitly. I do not base my decision primarily on issues, resumes, good looks or speaking ability, although each of those elements can and will be reshaped or retrained to attract the attention of the American voter. Of course issues are important, as are experience and leadership capabilities. I expect several candidates to meet my standards in these areas, but that doesn’t mean they will have earned my trust.

Who was the last candidate I really trusted? It was Al Gore (sorry, Bill). I believed in his commitment as a public servant and I wasn’t suspicious about why he wanted to be in the White House. His damaging quote about 'inventing the Internet' was a silly mistake, but it wasn't a trust-breaking revelation. There were plenty of things about him I didn’t like, but I absolutely trusted his motives.

Of the current choices, I obviously have eliminated President Bush out of hand because my level of distrust for him and his administration seems to reach a new high every day. There’s not enough room on this board to comment on even those issues that have surfaced in just the last few days. Blechhhhh!

As for the Democrats, Howard Dean is the clear points leader for now, and while any suspicions I have about him are still minor at this point, I've gotten a clear feeling about his integrity and his motives. Wesley Clark possesses several important qualities, but I’m still having some trouble with his long history of supporting Republicans and the apparent philosophical 'awakening' that rather suddenly put him on the side of the donkey. With the possible exception of Sen. John Edwards, the rest of the Dems still running have adopted the strategy of tearing down both General Clark and Gov. Dean instead of filling me in on their own plans for a post-Shrub America. I won’t vote for a candidate based on what he’s not, plain and simple. Sen. Edwards has caught my eye in recent days after a strong endorsement from the Des Moines Register. I read the editorial and re-visited Sen. Edwards’ website to learn more. I don’t believe Dick Gephardt, Joe Lieberman, John Kerry or any of the other Democratic hopefuls have anything distinctly new or traditionally comforting to offer our country, so I intend to focus my attention on Dean, Clark and Edwards, with Gov. Dean clearly being my favorite at this point.

I want a President I can trust. Is that still a realistic request, in this day and age??

[WI_DEM]

1. excellent post

I think you have selected a very fine man to support.

[Padraig18]

2. Thank you!

:hi:

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. Trust is the most important quality for a candidate

Bush has placed this country in a terrible mess and the whole world in peril. It will take some tough actions to make things right. Some of these actions won't be popular, but they will be realistic. A good example is rolling back the tax cuts. I made under twelve thousand dollars gross last year, so you can't count me as one of the rich few. But I'm willing to lose my three bucks a paycheck raise if it gets our country back on sound financial footing. I need to have a man in the Oval Office who I know will make the tough decisions and see them through. I know that people laughed when Dean said the budget would be balanced in the fifth or sixth year of his administration, but I think he was being realistic. It will take a minimum of two terms in office to undo the damage done during one term by the Chimp. Dean has the experience and has shown he can do the right thing, even if it is tough, even if he has to convince a legislature to go along. Like you, I don't agree with all his positions (ideologically, I'm to the left of Dean), but he's pragmatic and above all trustworthy.

[T Roosevelt]

4. I agree - trust is very important

On a side note:

His damaging quote about 'inventing the Internet' was a silly mistake

Silly mistake by whom? Not Gore...

[Cuban_Liberal]

23. It was a slip of the tongue.

he did sponsor the legislation that funded development of the proto-internet, if I recall correctly.

[Dookus]

5. I agree with your sentiment...

we just differ on the conclusion. I trust Clark far more than any other candidate. He's led a life of public and private integrity.

[Padraig18]

6. Yes, he has.

There's no 'smoking gun' about Gen. Clark's life, and my only reservation about him is the one I stated; furthermore, I find much of the "Warning, Will Robinson!" stuff about Gov. Dean to be in a similar category: niggling doubt, but no 'deal breaker' stuff.

:)

[arewethereyet]

7. perhaps there is

check it out

http://mujweb.atlas.cz/www/kutija/nw000515.htm

[Padraig18]

8. I've made up my mind about Kosovo.

It was a nasty war, but I don't believe Gen. Clark did anything wrong, as far as his overall conduct of it is concerned.

:)

[RogueTrooper]

9. Excellent post padraig

[Padraig18]

11. Thank you!

:hi:

[wtmusic]

10. well put Padraig

Trust is a major issue with many Dean supporters. Perhaps that's why we feel we can win--the nation is in dire need of a leader we can put our confidence and faith in.

[Padraig18]

12. Exactly!

I've scrutinized Gov. Dean's record as closely as any opposition researcher has, and putting myself in his shoes with the same facts before me, he has consistently done 'the right thing' 99% of the time, in my estimation. I believe deeply that America can trust Gov. Dean to do the right thing for America and the world.

:)

[teryang]

13. Speaking of integrity and trust

Great post by the way. I share your sentiments.

Does anyone know if all the candidates have published financial disclosure statements anywhere? If so where can they be found?

[Padraig18]

15. I'm not sure where to find them.

I'd try Googling them. :)

[LizW]

14. Trust is paramount

Like you, Padraig, I want a candidate I can trust. For me, idealogy and even experience, while important, are second to trust. And as you rightly point out, it is important to trust a candidate's motives for wanting to become President.

Every Democratic candidate beats George Bush by miles in qualifications, leadership, character, intelligence, and overall moral fiber. I am firmly convinced that, although the general election will be hard fought and probably bloody, there is NO WAY Bush* will be elected in 2004 unless he steals it. (No small concern, btw, but that is a subject for another post.)

My certainty that, absent election theft, a Democrat will be our next President makes me doubly determined that we must pick the best person to serve. Bush will leave our nation much, much weaker than he found it. We will have our work cut out for us, especially if there are not big changes in Congress.

I want a candidate who is running because he wants to work, to make a contribution and to make a difference. I want a candidate prepared to fight, because the next administration will have to fight every day to fix the damage wrought by Bushco. I want a candidate who came from the people, and who remembers us, and is serving for us.

I support Dean because he speaks plainly and it is clear why he is running for President. He is a fighter. He has already been tested much in this primary and has performed well under the onslaught. He has placed the focus of his campaign on the voters. He never forgets, and never lets us forget, what the consequences of complacency and apathy will be. He has stirred people to be involved who were disconnected from politics and who were suffering because of it. This is a great service to Americans, and even if Dean is not nominated, we owe him a debt of gratitude for that.

As President, Dean would be far, far different from the Texas royalty we have suffered under. And of all the candidates, I think he will be best able to withstand the onslaught of the right wing that will surely be as relentless as it was during the Clinton administration.

Dean gives me hope, and he gets my vote in the primary, assuming he's still in it in June.

My second choice is John Edwards, although I think he's a little young and should probably be VP. He makes a connection with people that cannot be faked. I wish he had more years of public service under his belt, but his background helps to make up for that. As an attorney myself, I'm no big fan of personal injury trial lawyers. Some of them are slimy snakes that I wouldn't trust any further than I could throw them. But people who know Edwards personally respect him, and I believe he is a good person.

Kerry is my third choice, not far behind Edwards. His qualifications are impeccable. I'm a little worried by things that have been said by people in his state about his accessibility, but I will vote for him proudly if he's the nominee, and I firmly believe he would make a fine President and would serve well.

Gephart, Clark and Lieberman I will vote for if nominated, but not happily or proudly. Gephart and Lieberman, in spite of long and admirable careers as Democrats have let us down during the Bush* administration. I am disappointed in them.

I have more concerns about Clark than any other candidate. They have all been documented here before, so I won't go into it other than to say that his connection with Jackson Stephens is very worrisome, and I fear that he does not meet my criterion of running for President for the right reasons.

I like Dennis Kuchinich very much and it pains me to say that I never considered supporting him because I didn't think he could be elected.

Padraig, to finally address your question: Yes, I do believe it is realistic to expect that we can elect a President we can trust. Our faith in the inherent goodness of people has been sorely tested by the fraudulent selection of 2000 and the Bush jihad that followed. But I still have hope.

I think that is why Tom Harkin's speech Thursday moved me so. He said, "Don't be afraid." It struck a chord. If we become so beaten down and afraid to hope even for personal decency and trustworthiness in a President, then all is lost.

I still have hope, and even a little fight left in me. I will support Dean with every ounce of energy I have, and if he's not the Democratic nominee, then I'll vote for whoever is.

[Padraig18]

17. Much of the "Monday-morning quaterbacking" criticism of Dean

So much of the criticism leveled at Gov. Dean (and, in truth, at many of the candidates) is just 'Monday-morning quarterbacking". When I look at Gov. Dean's actions as Governor of Vermont, I look at the facts that were known at the time he was making a decision; it is easy to criticize certain action with the benefit of hindsight, but knowing what he knew at the time, I would have made the same decision 99% of the time.

That's where my trust comes from, as regards Gov. Dean. :)

[mandyky]

16. Dean won my trust at the DNC winter meeting last year

As a matter of fact, I adressed that issue in a letter to a Granite stater today as I am writing letters -

<snip>
There are so many reasons that I support Howard Dean. The first is that I trust him - he speaks to my gut. Because of that I no longer feel so depressed and distressed about the current administration - I think they won't be re-elected especially if Dean gets the nomination.
</snip>

Howard Dean is such a contrast to shrub, but also to the other candidates. Dean spoke up first, and only after that the top tier candidates felt comfortable to criticize shrub. I still get ticked at John Kerry over his "don't cry in your teacup" remark months ago.
Dean kept up his remarks, even when the media was making fun of him, etc. If that's not integrity and character, I don't know what is.

[Padraig18]

18. I couldn't agree more!

Yet more reason to support Gov. Dean! :)

[shance]

19. Wow. This is good. Thanks!!

Wonderful incite and you read my mail.***

[Padraig18]

20. Thank you!

:hi:

[Cuban_Liberal]

21. This is the sort of thing that GD-P2004 should see more of!

Very well-written and -reasoned, Padraig!:)

[Padraig18]

27. Thanks!

:)

[sandnsea]

22. Very realistic, I don't trust Howard as far as I can throw him

That's the first reason I don't support him. He used the war to go against the Democratic candidates instead of Bush. He lied about his real beliefs and statements in 2002. He's completely changed ALL of his views in 2003, that don't even match stuff he did in Vermont in 2002. I don't believe a word out of his mouth and never will.

And yeah, this probably wasn't necessary but I'm pissed from another thread. Oh well.

[Cuban_Liberal]

25. LOL!

Bad form to 'piss in another man's ear', sandnsea, especially when it's a positive thread. :)

[sandnsea]

30. Oh hell I know

But there's been alot of pissin' going on today.

[Padraig18]

31. I forgive you!

No blood, no foul, as long as you're ABB at the end of the day. :hi:

[Dolphyn]

24. I trust Dennis Kucinich

It sounds like perhaps you haven't taken a close look at Dennis Kucinich. Trust is one of the main reasons I support him.

His record matches his rhetoric, and he does not accept corporate campaign donations. He is an honest man and a man of the people. He is straightforward and there's no question about where he stands on any issue. I have never trusted any politician as much as I trust Dennis Kucinich.

On the other hand, I don't trust Howard Dean, because he has sealed many of his records, because he seems to waffle on many issues, and because he has portrayed himself as the "only candidate against the war" which simply isn't true.

[Cuban_Liberal]

26. I trust Dennis Kucinich, too.

I just don't think there's any way on God's green earth of persuading 50.1% of the electorate to vote for him.

[mmonk]

28. overall

a good post as to your reasons.

[NV1962]

29. Excellent point, we agree 99%

(that one percent is just who we prefer at the top spot)

Thanks for drawing attention to the heart of honest debate: a pursuit of integrity with integrity.

[Maddy McCall]

32. Dean opens his sealed records,he gives the the opportunity to trust or not

Right now, his decision to seal records makes me distrustful of him.

[Padraig18]

34. When I see the other candidates doing the same, ...

... I'll consider this to be something other than an politically-motivated, opprtuinistic faux 'issue'.

[Polemonium]

33. Great post

I would add being a hard core Dean supporter that it is also important to trust the people who support the candidate. In Dean's case that is people like you and me (and people different from you and me), but I always trust the grassroots more than the fat cats and politicoes.