Learning as I go...


1. About music: I tend to start out strong with an idea, tell the world, "what I'm gonna do...", then something comes up, and the project does not get done. I set myself up to fail immediately. And frankly for me, I thrive on success. A song has many components, and it is more inviting for me to master one of them. Aha! Here is where I usually say, "what I'm gonna do...". This time I will wait and start saying what I did.

2. About politics: I learned that the Republican Party is the party of "fear". They use this well to motivate their voters. It's no secret that their are two motivating factors in life, fear and greed. And it is not to wonder that the Democrats are the party of "greed". They use money, the economy, welfare, and other issues to relate to their base. Lately, I've noticed the two candidates, McCain and Obama, have tried to "cross" the lines of demarcation and Republicans seem to be flirting with "greed" issues, while the Democrats seem to be flirting with "fear" issues. It appears to me that this strategy is not working. There is one more thought on this topic, a third motivational factor often overlooked in politics; LOVE. Fear, Greed, and Love are all motivational factors. So, for a third party to succeed, they will need to be based on "Love" issues.

3. About the Election in 2008: I see Obama as the best choice because the Republicans had a long time to steer this ship in the right direction, and the ship is running aground. I see McCain as the victor in this election simply based on race and gender (his running mate). Here is the problem: I also see an incumbent President that has a history of befuddling the elections. I think this year will be no exception. "Out of the blue" will come some event that will cause the President to postpone the election, or an event may occur after the election, with the same resulting action by the President; the inauguration will be postponed, and Dick Cheney (due to the Constitution) will become President. I will not elaborate as to "what" because my guess is as good as yours. All I know is that so many things were done in the Bush administration (hey I voted for the guy 1 time) that speak louder than the words of his character. He seems like a good man, but maybe the people he "surrounded himself with" are exactly the type of people who would be considered "fat cats" on Wall Street, and sell America as they laugh their way to the bank. LOVE; I love America, and no party of "greed" or "fear" will change my feelings. After the election, I see myself joining the Libertarian Party, and from there I will try to do my part. I can cross off my list of things to do before I die, Run for President.

4. Running for President: I did this "just to see if it could be done by an average person". It can, and it is a lot of time consuming paperwork. I see that there is absolutely no problem with the Federal Government and the FEC. They were very helpful in my campaign. The "stone wall" comes from each individual states rules as to filing, and getting on the ballot. It would be great for this nation as a whole if some changes were made as to Ballot Access, Voter Fraud, and the Electoral College. However, it would take a Constitutional Convention to initiate these changes; states will not give up this valuable power, and I don't blame them... but in the corrupt hands of some of the State's Leaders, we need a solution. If you want to understand a third party, understand that there are Americans whose Love for their country, the Rule of Law, and Equality far outweigh the Fear and Greed the other two parties perpetuate.

Peace Out, Gary Ruff

PS I'm done running for President, now I'm going on to music full speed ahead!