Site Meter Radical Avenue » Blog Archive » Election Cycle Makes Long Term Planning Difficult

Election Cycle Makes Long Term Planning Difficult

by Bob Betzen

chinook_1.jpgArmies have fought wars over small strips of land for centuries in the Middle East. Battles seem to break out in an instance while lasting peace agreements take years to develop. Iraq won’t become a stable democracy any time soon. The civil war of the 1980’s in Lebanon continued for over ten years. The United States has a limited ability to determine the final outcome in Iraq at this point.

The entire world now knows that we did not have an effective long term plan for establishing a stable, representative government in Iraq. Our leaders expected to get in and out within a few hundred days. But we’ve always done nation building in the past, why would anyone expect Iraq to be any different?

Given the longstanding animosity between political factions in the region, a more prudent pre-War plan would have included laying the groundwork for 20 years of intense political negotiations. We should have prepared our diplomatic corps for an extraordinarily challenging assignment and set aside enough money for the job. But we didn’t do any of that.

The US election cycle doesn’t lend itself to long term planning. Newly elected presidents know that they have only eight years at the most to make an impression. So they sometimes pursue a highly ambitious agenda and end up leaving behind a mess for the next administration to clean up.

Responsibility for the Vietnam conflict passed between three presidents. Now the quagmire in Iraq will get transferred to a new commander in chief as well.

Our country would be better off if we could vote for the agenda rather than the person tasked with carrying out the agenda. Then we could hand each new president a written mandate. Instead we have chief executives making it up as they go along.

, , , , , , , , ,


2 Responses to “Election Cycle Makes Long Term Planning Difficult”

  1. Radical Avenue » Blog Archive » Time for a National Referendum Says:

    [...] changes dramatically. Some programs get dropped or lose their funding. There’s no continuity. Long term strategies have no chance in this environment. Popular initiatives are no cure all. Voter enacted regulations [...]

  2. Radical Avenue » Blog Archive » National Referendum Needed to Establish Long Term Strategy Says:

    [...] independence by now as well, but our politics won’t allow it. We’re lousy at implementing long term solutions. Our presidents have a tendency to cast aside programs initiated by previous administrations and [...]

Leave a Reply


About Radical Avenue

If you want to find criticism of our government here in America, you won’t need to look far. When it comes to politics, it seems that everyone has a grievance. Radical Avenue on the other hand, takes a solutions oriented approach to public policy. It’s radical because I’m proposing fundamental changes to the structure of our government, like transferring commander in chief responsibilities to a small elected group. My philosophy is: Everyone knows we’ve got problems, so what are we going to do about it?

Radical Avenue Author(s)
    » Bob-Betzen

Blogging Flair

Politics & News Channel Posts

  • Tougher Homes Needed in California
    Good news. Here in California, the Building Standards Commission has adopted new residential construction codes intended to cut water usage and increase energy efficiency in new homes. The [...]
  • Cowboy Junkies
    "Okay, okay ... I'll have chicken again tonight..." I thought I missed something. The headline on the story read: "Bull Riding Is Becoming Mainstream." Really? If you've been to a bull [...]
  • Mass Transit Popular Again
    Peer down from the ninety ninth floor of an urban skyscraper and commuters look like little bugs. Every day thousands of worker bees cram into giant steel buildings to produce a little honey for [...]
  • Bush = (Wilson + Hoover) * Buchanan
    Mathematically inclined historians may calculate for decades before finding the right equation to fully assess the Bush presidency. While measuring the gap between the federal budget surplus Bush [...]
  • One More Silver Dollar
    If you can read this you're too close ... and legally blind Government officials announced today that the U.S. Mint will soon produce a new silver dollar commemorating the birth of Louis Braille [...]
  • Democracy No Panacea
    American politicians like to promote democracy as a polished gemstone behind a plate glass window at the jewelry store, rather than as a diamond in the rough still encrusted in stone. A country's [...]
  • George Carlin Dies
    - Fuck. - George Carlin, 1937-2008 - [...]
  • Diplomatic Circles
    Even the dark cloud over US foreign policy left behind by the Bush administration has a silver lining. Other countries now know that they can't count on America for political leadership, so they've [...]
  • I, Love Robot
    Sexy...in a Power Rangers kind of way... Not content with dominating the world auto market, the Japanese robotic industry is now working to make American women smaller, quieter and more fuel [...]
  • Gloomy Guantanamo Bay
    King Henry VIII had the Tower of London. Nikita Khrushchev had the Gulags of Siberia. Guantanamo Bay seems to be George Bush's barbaric detention center of choice. During previous conflicts, [...]

Hot Off The Press

  • Coco Sumner does her dad proud
    Performing before a large crowd at a charity benefit, Coco Sumner, only 17 years old, is sure making her daddy proud. This young chick's dad only happens to be none other than the legendary Sting, [...]
  • Words of Wisdom from Nina Garcia
    Women of the world, I beg of you, take to heart this statement made by Nina Garcia as she judged this week's Project Runway designs: "I think shiny, tight and short is the quickest way to look [...]
  • Booking Through Thursday - First Lines
    Hello everyone and happy Thursday. Welcome again to yet another slightly late Booking Through Thursday. I reckon I should just start calling it “Booking Through Thursday Afternoon” or “Booking [...]
  • Sherri Shepherd Discusses Precious Times Article (video)
    Here is a video clip of The View on Wednesday July 23 where Sherri Shepherd sought to clarify comments that she made in an interview with Precious Times about her prior history of abortions and [...]
  • The Birth of Religion - Part 13
    by Seeker Some of the new knowledge we have come to from science tells us that the Earth is in flux. The surface of the planet is still recovering from the Ice Age, both in climate and in physical [...]
  • Ways to Cook a Good Pepper
    Peppers have been used in many dishes since the beginning of man kind on plant earth. The Indians used peppers of all varieties in their medicine practices as well. Peppers continue to be a staple [...]
  • Build an Awesome Burger
    Four of the best hamburgers can be made in your own kitchen or backyard tonight for dinner. Here's how their made. • Big Kahuna Burger 10 oz. ground turkey, divided into two patties 4 [...]
  • News of the Who
    John and his sister Carole in SoCal for a book signing. The fabulous TVShowsOnDVD.com is reporting that the US series one Torchwood Blue-ray DVD set release has been pushed back to 11 November. [...]
  • The View Schedule July 28-August 1st
    Here is the guest line-up for The View for July 28th-August 1st, which will be the last week before the show's month-long hiatus. I really hope that the hosts learned from their last experience with [...]
  • If everybody was like me, the world would be perfect!
    Bet that title grabbed your eye! But isn't that the way we all feel? If our families would just listen to us, do what we say/recommend/order, then life would be so much easier! At work, [...]