Will we gorge ourselves on sweets, or will we pick what's good for us?

Every morning as I ride into work, I hear the voices of the two candidates through the radio stumping for this or that. I also hear the polls gradually turning more in favor of Bush, and I am slowly coming to realize that we will probably end up with four more years of this guy. I wish I could say that I don't understand it... but I think I do.

It should be clear to people that Kerry is so much more intelligent than Bush on almost every issue. I mean, come on... Can't we all see that Bush has severely damaged our relationship with the international community? Isn't it obvious that he lied about the need to go to war in Iraq? Are we really blind to the fact that he favors big business's interests over everything else: small businesses, environmental issues, education reform, middle class tax payers, and the rights of low income workers? Do we not understand that (contrary to Cheney's assertion) we have never really been safe under Bush? (Under who's watch did the September 11 attacks happen? What has he really done since then to make the country safer? Do you feel safer? I don't.) Are we not aware of the health care crisis happening in this country? Do we not feel the pinch of this economy? (Look at the housing market! Look at the price of gas! How much are you being paid for your job in comparison to the cost of living?)

I think many Americans -- perhaps even the majority of Americans -- think that Bush has done a really poor job as president. And I am betting that if many people just looked at Kerry's ideas, they would see that he has some smart plans for cleaning up the mess that Bush has made of things.

But do people really look at the ideas? Can they?

For the most part, we can't get past how the two candidates present themselves. When I hear them stumping over the radio each morning, even I have to admit that Bush is a much more engaging speaker than Kerry. Bush may be steering the country in the wrong direction, but his Texas twang and short, simple sentences are like candy to the ears. (Bush: "We have led, many have joined, and America and the world are safer.")He does have charisma.

Kerry, on the other hand, may have the answers to our problems, but listening to them is like... um.... (Kerry: "Instead of listening to the uniformed military, his own State Department, Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress, and outside experts about how to win the peace in Iraq the President hitched his wagon to the ideologues who told him our troops would be welcomed as liberators.")... well, let's face it: it's the aural equivalent of eating a bowl of grapenuts.... without milk.

And that's really what voters are choosing between... not the ideas, not what's good for this country, not even what's good for them... they're voting for who can feed us the best sound bytes. And if we are given a choice between a chocolate bar -- full of luscious fat, caffeine, and sugar -- and a bowl of grape nuts -- full of vitamins and nutrients that taste like dirt -- what do you think the typical American will choose?

Unfortunately, many of us are gorging ourselves on Bush's cheese fry speeches and his chocolate bar good-old-boy attitude. And why not? It tastes better, right? Who cares that it's making us a bloated nation that other countries look at in disgust? Who cares that it is making our schools, economy, and environment sick? There may be nothing behind Bush's empty phrases and fake Texas twang. But hell, we'll enjoy it now and ignore the consequences... because that's the kind of nation we are. Right?

I dream sometimes that a health craze has swept through our nation... that we are all craving tofu and grape nuts. We might be bored by the tastelessness of it all, but we know deep down that it's good for us. Kerry has a chance in my dream, because taste doesn't matter. What matters is that we choose what's right for us so we can heal all of the harm that has been done to our country.

Will it come true? Will we truly do what's right for us? I guess we'll find out in November. I fear, though, that we are truly a junk food nation.