Potter

it's been a good 10 years, potter. what a read.
but something has always troubled me about potter. even his most shining moments are arrived at by way of others' sacrifice or contribution. he is always saved from certain extinction just in the nick of time, either by a friend or by some magical device (his mother's long ago sacrifice, or fawkes the phoenix appearing on the scene).

you are never given the impression, through these novels, that harry really has what it takes to be the hope of all wizard-kind. he breaks the rules at school, doesn't read any of his textbooks or do his assignments. doesn't score well on his OWLS. he's all-around pretty lackluster as a wizard. and i know i'm missing the point--he's a good person!. being a good person counts for a lot. some things, however, require more than likeability and good character traits. they require merit.

i think that idea is pretty important with the presidential candidate debates cranking up. last time the country picked a president based on who we'd rather have a beer with, well, look how it ended up.

the presidential candidates need to get with it. the democrats, i mean. i watched them all on the stage, stammering about their religion. obama proclaimed how proud he was of his "christian faith." so did joe biden. he said it informed his decisions/position on the floor.

clinging to religion has gotten us into enough trouble already, but all of the candidates seem desperate to convince everyone just how religious they are, no one wants to say that religion belongs nowhere near the white house. and i suspect that it will be the same on every issue the candidates encounter: not one of them will venture to say something that departs from the safe, well-polished drivel that gets people elected. and however the election turns out, the new president isn't likely to enact any policies that depart from the safe, time-tested ideas that boost approval ratings.