In the shorter races its simply who you like.

Submitted by Bertrand Bhikarry on Sat, 04/10/2010 - 00:29
It makes good sense of course. Give the vote to the person who is best placed to make things happen for you and your community, and by extension the country's needs will be served. Not that it was ever that simple in Trinidad and Tobago.
 
I think of my wife as I say that, I think of her at the racetrack putting her money on a certain horse. She knows her nags, more than the average person I should think, yet she never ever bets on an equine athlete she didn't actually 'like'. She'd find a little something, somewhere in her sensibilities to justify putting out on her favourite.
 
I think the snap elections we just got wind of are going to be decided by something as elemental as one woman's prerogative at the betting cage. Basic instincts rule people, even to the extent of risking  their moolah. It will be more so when voters seek to place a fingerprint on the ballot slip when comes The Day.
 
There are many arguments otherwise. Statisticians will state PNM  has already won by placing voters within boundaries. Social scientists think the larger part of the population has irrevocably embraced a malaise which delivers an easy, if unsustainable lifestyle. 
 
But what of the swing vote? The 'undecideds'? Can they upset the PNM plans to sweep the field? People who know of things like crowd mentality and psychology of the masses, opine that spin artists and others who work the election processes can only effectively impact on the consciousness of the swing vote only in the backstretch, the long haul. 
Such folk think the wily Mr. Manning has removed the lengthy campaign period associated with most general elections and in doing so also took away the period needed to cajole the swing and the undecided voters.   
 
It seems He, Manning, knows from experience, when it comes to the final furlong, the last week, the last days,  most people will already be committed to their choices. They would have achieved their mindset via a process of courtship, maybe it was media, maybe through interaction with individuals representing a party. Maybe it was slow and overarching graft.
 
However Mr. Manning may have missed something. In aspiring to the  high goal of God's perfect will he forgot to talk to the proletariat, trusting the PNM guard as it were, to hold unconditionally. He forgot to ask the people who they'd vote for this time around now that Eric Williams is not even a memory. 
 
Forget the logical answers. Most would simply say, 'I like / doh like that!' That's emotion taking hold and carrying rational thinking along with it. 
 
Our present Prime Minister, Patrick Manning has done himself a disservice in that he has made himself so hard to like. And in the face of recent news for the energy sector, he may easily find he is cast into the role of the rider of the black horse - who is Famine. I will give long odds that my wife will not buy into that combination, no matter what the payout. 
Authors note: I know! I used this quotation just the other day. At least I'm consistent.  
  "When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, 'Come!' I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, 'A quart of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for a day's wages, and do not damage the oil'..."
— revelation 6:5-6   
Blog: 
Patrick Manning
pnm
elections
elections 2010

Comments

Submitted by Twitter Trackb... (not verified) on Sat, 04/10/2010 - 00:32.

[...] In the shorter races its simply who you like. | KnowTnT.com (Beta) www.knowtnt.com/node/139 – view page – cached It makes good sense of course. Give the vote to the person who is best placed to make things happen for you and your community, and by extension the country's needs will be served. Not that it was ever that simple in Trinidad and Tobago. Tweets about this link Topsy.Data.Twitter.User['knowtnt'] = {"location":"Trinidad and Tobago","photo":"http://a3.twimg.com/profile_images/721436715/knowtntscreenie_normal.png","name":"KnowTnT","url":"http://twitter.com/knowtnt","nick":"knowtnt","description":"The continuous unauthorized biography of Trinidad and Tobago. Bloggers from T&T welcome. ","influence":""}; knowtnt: “In the shorter races its simply who you like. http://tinyurl.com/yyh8f76 by Bertrand Bhikarry ” 3 minutes ago view tweet retweet Filter tweets [...]

Submitted by Twitter Trackb... (not verified) on Sat, 04/10/2010 - 01:32.

[...] In the shorter races its simply who you like. | KnowTnT.com (Beta) knowtnt.com/node/139 – view page – cached It makes good sense of course. Give the vote to the person who is best placed to make things happen for you and your community, and by extension the country's needs will be served. Not that it was ever that simple in Trinidad and Tobago. Tweets about this link Topsy.Data.Twitter.User['triniboichris'] = {"location":"TRINI 2 D BONE !","photo":"http://a1.twimg.com/profile_images/708784258/IMG00317_normal.JPG","name":"CHRiiS","url":"http://twitter.com/triniboichris","nick":"triniboichris","description":"UNDERSTAND MY HEARTBEAT MURMURS TO MOCK YOUR RHYTHM","influence":""}; triniboichris: “RT @TriniTweets #trinidad In the shorter races its simply who you like. | KnowTnT.com (Beta) http://bit.ly/aN74QN ” 10 minutes ago view tweet retweet Topsy.Data.Twitter.User['trinitweets'] = {"location":"Port of Spain, T&T","photo":"http://a1.twimg.com/profile_images/250142280/Flag-map_of_Trinidad_and_To...","name":"Trinidad and Tobago","url":"http://twitter.com/trinitweets","nick":"trinitweets","description":"I retweet all your tweets with #trinidad or #tobago and will follow you too","influence":""}; trinitweets: “#trinidad In the shorter races its simply who you like. | KnowTnT.com (Beta) http://bit.ly/aN74QN ” 12 minutes ago view tweet retweet Filter tweets [...]