September 20, 2005 at 11:04:39 p.m. (Note: This was a repost of a piece written in 2000.)

The nominating conventions are over with and we can look forward to an avalanche of political rhetoric for the next couple of months. Each candidate will have their feel-good message and each party will be beating whatever drums they think will garner the most attention.

Around mid-October I will publish my analysis of each candidate as taken from their individual chart work. It might help you make up your mind if indeed, you are undecided at that point, or it may help support your personal convictions about the candidate of your choice.

In advance of that report, I have some comments to bring to your attention. I have been around since the early days of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, so exposure to the political system before and after election day is something I’m familiar with. But much has changed since the 1930’s and what goes on in Washington and specifically the oval office is, in common parlance, a whole new ball game.

Regardless of the man (and hopefully in the future- the woman) who is sitting in the most powerful seat in the world, decisions will not be influenced by his convictions or the convictions of his party. The shift of global power no longer injects national leaders with the means to lead or effect the course of history. That element died with the completion of Harry Truman’s term of office. Big business, which always had some reasonable influence in national issues, has now become the absolute director of global developments and the decisions that bring them into reality. National governments are no longer autonomous, but serve to fulfill the needs of international markets. There is no escape from this condition. The high-tech atmosphere in which we live and the application of the systems it spawns will not support nor favor the issues of independent governments. If business fails, nations fall and there is no leader of a major country that is willing to undermine that format.

This is neither a positive or negative reality. It is nothing more than the unavoidable progression of a changing economic structure. Nations who decide they will not cooperate with this system will find themselves out on the global street selling pencils. Every major country knows this and every political party knows this. Therefore, the man elected to lead that country must also know this and be willing to find the ways to cooperate with this undeniable reality. The best person for the job is the one who can help guide the internal needs of his country without sacrificing the support from the directors of the global economic machinery. I cannot help feeling some sense of disappointment that we can no longer apply the conviction of Teddy Roosevelt: “Walk softly and carry a big stick.” But then, Teddy only had San Juan Hill to attack. How would he have done in front of a dozen computer screens? – GT