Authentic, Shmauthentic!

"Authentic" seems to be the current political buzzword. Unfortunately, it's the worst criterion for choosing a President.

To many people, Bush seemed to be more sincere and accessible (did that equal "authenticity?") than Gore and they voted for Bush. What a mistake!

In choosing a President, the voter should evaluate (on the basis of past performance, current promises and likely members of the proposed Administration) the likelihood that the candidate will pursue and achieve goals that are helpful to the voter.

"Authenticity" is a vaguely defined, subjective quality. Using it as a guide gives terrible results. Bush has "authenticity." Bush is the worst President the United States has ever had. If a columnist wants to write a useful column, he/she should avoid using that misleading word.

The use of "authenticity" as a criterion is an indication that the columnist is too ignorant or lazy to examine the substantive issues. Unfortunately, ignorance and laziness have been and continue to be major weaknesses of the Main Stream Media.