Opaque Lucidity

The Jobs Paradox

I like Steve Jobs. I like him because I don't work for him. From a distance, however, he's the angry genius who belittles employees and suffers fools not at all. Had he not returned to the company in 1997, Apple would probably be a memory. While I know that there are some hip design firms working for the folks in Cupertino, I firmly believe that there is a bit of Steve in every product Apple makes. For example, I read a story in 'Wired' magazine about the birth of the iPod. Jobs was unhappy with the maximum volume of the device because he is hard of hearing. In short, your iPod's maximum volume was tailored to compensate for one man's hearing loss.

As much as I admire The Steve, I think he needs to stick to tech and animation and steer clear of making Presidential recommendations. That's right: not only does Algore sit on Apple's board, but Jobs thinks he'd make a great President. Doctor Ozone, who has made a career out of global warming, has not announced his candidacy. Will he run? I say yes.

I believe Algore sees himself as the Christ figure of the Democrat party. He has sacrificed himself on the altar of greenhouse gases, high-emission SUVs and rising sea levels so that you and I will not have to move to another planet. Now, before the eyes of world, he is going to rise from political death.

The Democratic race for the nomination is going to be bloody, but it will essentially come down to only two people: Senators Clinton and Obama. Both of them have spent and are going to spend enormous amounts of money trying to discredit each other. Keep in mind that this is the first Presidential election in over 50 years that there is no incumbent or Vice President in the pool. Strange things can happen, and they most assuredly will.

Here's my call: right before the first state primaries (let's say January, 2008), Algore will give a speech somewhere saying that he is hurt, deeply hurt I tell you, about the divisions he sees in his party. Thus, his conscience is forcing him to run for President. He will not have to spend as much money for commercials, ads, etc, as his opponents because of his late entry. Or, he might wait until AFTER the primaries to announce. After all, the nomination does not have to be a guaranteed thing by the time of the convention in Summer, 2008. While we haven't had a convention fight in either party for a long time, delegate defections are not illegal.

If I'm right, next year is going to be the most interesting political year this nation has experienced in a long, long time.