the "ET ticket"

i do a lot of reading about the 2008 presidential race, i think mainly because i like to watch how campaigns evolve and how candidates shape and reshape themselves in response to one another and to polls. it's a fascinating hall of mirrors; who's reading and predicting popular opinion most effectively? who's got their finger most firmly planted on the "American" pulse, and how do they attempt to give themselves that air of inevitability in terms of being the candidate that everyone else sees as the most electable?

in light of this, i thought some of you might be interested to see how the UFO question has been used--by candidates and voters alike--as a defining platform issue from time to time. jimmy carter was seen as the UFO disclosure candidate by many in the UFO community; george bush sr., with his extensive CIA background, seemed as good a bet as any to disclose "the truth" about UFOs while in office. on the campaign trail, bush jr. even once said (probably without seriousness) that cheney would take care of UFO disclosure as soon as they got to office. of course, these hopes were not realized, and you can imagine the response of the general public to a Hillary or a Barack or a Ron Paul announcing that UFO disclosure will henceforth be a significant element of their campaign for the office of president.

here is a series of articles concerning the relationship of various U.S. presidents to UFOs and disclosure (beware: some are based entirely on historical record, others are HIGHLY speculative). and here is an interesting collection of responses from representatives, senators, and the white house to letters written by citizens requesting congressional investigations of the government's UFO-related activities. happy reading!

**i've finished a preliminary outline for my paper and am currently tearing it apart in an effort to focus & reorganize my arguments. i'll post it as soon as i can figure out the best way to make it fit the space of this column. suggestions will be greatly appreciated.