Government Technology - January 2008 - (Page 12)

the last mile Standardizing the Candidates K, it’s 2008. Now it makes sense to actually pay attention to the presidential candidates, but there’s really no need. They’re all terrible, and whatever you want changed won’t be. Want us out of Iraq? Not happening. Universal health care? Forget it. Higher/lower/ flat taxes? No, no, no. Although at press time, we can “choose” from 16 people, 15 of them are virtually indistinguishable — something this expanded campaign season has repeatedly proven. Group Publisher: EDITORIAL Editor: Associate Editors: DON PEARSON dpearson@govtech.com STEVE TOWNS stowns@govtech.com EMILY MONTANDON emontandon@govtech.com JESSICA JONES jjones@govtech.com MIRIAM JONES mjones@govtech.com KAREN STEWARTSON kstewartson@govtech.com JIM MCKAY jmckay@govtech.com CHAD VANDER VEEN cvanderveen@govtech.com ANDY OPSAHL aopsahl@govtech.com MATT WILLIAMS mwilliams@govtech.com CORTNEY TOWNS ctowns@govtech.com TOD NEWCOMBE tnewcombe@govtech.com MERRILL DOUGLAS, CHANDLER HARRIS, DAVID RATHS, ADAM STONE, TAMARA WARTA, WAYNE HANSON, REID GOLDSBOROUGH KELLY MARTINELLI kmartinelli@govtech.com CRYSTAL HOPSON chopson@govtech.com MICHELLE HAMM mhamm@govtech.com JOE COLOMBO jcolombo@govtech.com TOM MCKEITH tmckeith@govtech.com STEPHAN WIDMAIER swidm@govtech.com JOEI HEART jheart@govtech.com JUDE HANSEN jhansen@govtech.com JON FYFFE jfyffe@govtech.com TIM KARNEY tkarney@govtech.com EAST PAM FYFFE pfyffe@govtech.com WEST, CENTRAL LESLIE HUNTER lhunter@govtech.com EAST SHELLEY BALLARD sballard@govtech.com WEST, CENTRAL KRISTA O’SULLIVAN kosullivan@govtech.com WEST, CENTRAL MELISSA CANO mcano@govtech.com EAST ERIN HUX ehux@govtech.com WEST, CENTRAL ANDREA KLEINBARDT akleinbardt@govtech.com SHANNON DURHAM sdurham@govtech.com NANCY GLASS nglass@govtech.com SABRINA SHEWMAKE sshewmake@govtech.com WHITNEY SWEET wsweet@govtech.com LANA HERRERA lherrera@govtech.com KARIN PRADO kprado@govtech.com STACEY TOLES stoles@govtech.com GLENN SWENSON gswenson@govtech.com VIKKI PALAZZARI vpalazzari@govtech.com PETER SIMEK psimek@govtech.com MICHELLE MROTEK mmrotek@govtech.com JULIE DEDEAUX jdedeaux@govtech.com GOSIA USTASZEWSKA subscriptions@govtech.com DENNIS MCKENNA dmckenna@govtech.com DON PEARSON dpearson@govtech.com CATHILEA ROBINETT crobinet@centerdigitalgov.com LISA BERNARD lbernard@govtech.com PAUL HARNEY pharney@govtech.com ALAN COX acox@govtech.com BY C HA D VA NDER VEEN TECHNOLOGY AND POLITICS EDITOR Chief Copy Editor: Managing Editor: Justice Editor: Technology and Politics Editor: Features Editor: Staff Writer: Editorial Assistant: Contributing Editor: Contributing Writers: DESIGN Creative Director: Graphic Designers: Illustrator: Production Director: Production Manager: Internet Director: PUBLISHING VP Strategic Accounts: VP Bus. Development: Sr. Director of Sales: Regional Sales Directors: O “They’re all terrible.” Clinton, Obama, Rudy, Edwards, Romney — does it really matter who wins? Social issues aside, will any of them increase government efficiency or reduce Washington’s crippling bureaucracy? Who among them will accomplish what you’re often called to achieve — do more with less? The answer, of course, is none. Presidential politics ceased being about servicing the public and is solely about attaining and wielding power. It’s often said that people get the government they deserve. For proof, look no further than Congress. Everyone hates Congress, regardless of which party is in control. Current polling puts Congress’ job approval rating at 20 percent. Yet individually, Congress members routinely win high marks from constituents. Why? Because to get elected and stay in office, representatives must condemn pork barrel spending while promising the very same pork barrel spending. This virtually assures gridlock. And it may prove that representative democracy has a finite life span. Since this nation was founded, government has only increased in size. Never has it permanently shrunk. If this trend continues, which it will, the wheels of government will surely grind to a halt. To worsen matters, those we elect to Congress and the Oval Office have no incentive to change things. Only by perpetuating this trend can they win re-election. To reduce the size of government would mean stopping the wasteful spending that wins votes in a representative’s district. But if the bacon isn’t brought home, someone else who will bring it will get the votes. Naturally this ship of foolishness needs a captain — a person who can, individually, embody this abortion of democracy. Pick any social issue, and realize that all the lip service candidates give it is nothing more than a distraction to keep you from noticing that all any of them want is power. And thus, you realize why it makes no difference who wins. None of the candidates are average Americans. They all come from money — money that is used to buy power. And the Oval Office is the ultimate goal for those seeking to hold the reins. Of course, occasionally, there’s an outlier, which is why I said 15 of the 16 candidates are interchangeable. This time, Ron Paul is the mistake, the one who slipped through the cracks. Paul seems to truly want to improve government. Which is why he has no chance of winning. People indeed get the government they deserve, and, at least for now, it appears we’ll get it. Happy New Year. Account Managers: Director of Marketing: National Sales Administrator: Regional Sales Administrators: Dir. of Custom Events: Custom Events Manager: Custom Events Coordinator: Dir. of Custom Publications: Business Development Director: Director of Web Products and Services: Web Services Manager: Proj. Manager, Web Products and Services: Web Advertising Manager: Subscription Coordinator: CORPORATE CEO: Executive VP: Executive VP: CAO: CFO: VP of Events: Government Technology is published by e.Republic Inc. Copyright 2008 by e.Republic Inc. All rights reserved. Government Technology is a registered trademark of e.Republic Inc. Opinions expressed by writers are not necessarily those of the publisher or editors. Article submissions should be sent to the attention of the Managing Editor. Reprints of all articles in this issue and past issues are available (500 minimum). Please direct inquiries to Reprint Management Services (RMS): Attn. Tonya Martin at (800) 3605549 ext.157 or . Subscription Information: Requests for subscriptions may be directed to Circulation Director by phone or fax to the numbers below. You can also subscribe online at . 100 Blue Ravine Rd. 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Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Government Technology - January 2008

Government Technology - January 2008 Contents Point of View Big Picture The Last Mile On the Scene CIO Sightings Four Questions for... Spectrum Location, Location, Location Digital Governor Back to the Drawing Board Waukesha Goes Green Collaring Dangerous Dogs Public Sector Goes Web 2.0 Bounce Back SACWIS Rollout Simple Strategy Products Personal Computing How It Works signal:noise

Government Technology - January 2008

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