Delegate madness

People ask me alot what aggravates me the most about Korea. For the most part it’s the same things as anywhere. But it’s amazing to me that for a city the size of Seoul, people still walk so damn slow. I am constantly weaving in and out and around people on the sidewalk. And that is just at my normal pace. And furthermore, people will just post up in the middle of the sidewalk and talk on their cell phones. Taxi drivers do this also. Very frustrating.
But I digress. This whole delegate fiasco taking place with the Democrats is so indicitive of the way Democrats handle things. What is suspiciously left out of the media’s discussion of the whole issue is the way the Republicans handled it. Yes that’s right, the Republicans had the same problem with Michigan and Florida that the Democrats had but it was handled oh so much better. First off, instead of just the draconic punishment of absolutely no delegates that the Democrats metted out to these states, the Republicans took a less punitive stance and simply halved the delegates. All the candidates, and the state party, new this going in and accepted. This acceptance, however, is really the most important thing to note when examining the different ways each party governs.
Before and during the campaigning in Michigan and Florida, none of the candidates suggested any sort of desire to change the rules the RNC gave for the two states. When Mitt Romney won Michigan there was no movement spearheaded by him to make sure "all the votes" were counted. If McCain had won it would have been the same. Had Guiliani won Florida it is doubtful that he would have pushed for a "full" seating. When Republicans set rules, they follow them, regardless of the political consequences.
Contrast this with the way the Democrats have handled their delegate issue, and you really get a clear picture of the way the two parties handle the governance issue.

Recession

Living in South Korea, the only insight I have into the economic situation in the US is what I read online. So according to most of the media, and Warren Buffet, the US is in a recession. Here in Korea, recession is also looming on the horizon. I think it's important to note, however, that Korea's new President, Lee Myung Bak, seems to have the right idea on how to fix and economy. Two days ago, the Lee government announced a plan to reduce gas taxes by over $.10 a gallon in order to give consumers more money not to spend on gas. Granted, the gas tax in Korea is already astronomically high, but Lee did not set the gas tax; he inherited it, and he seems to be moving in the right direction on this issue. If only the DFL controlled legislature in Minnesota would take a hint.