My thoughts on our presidential candidates

Day 375, 20:45 Published in Thailand Thailand by Jack Roberts

I figued Id weigh in now that we have some platforms presented, even if a few are rather vague or lacking detail. We gotta work with what we're given, and so here we go:

Antonio Salgado:
I cant say Im surprised he's running, Ive always figured it was a matter of time before he did so. I agree with virtually everything Ealb's article said, and while he's made some good strides lately with the running of the Civil Recruitment Program...there's been things bothering me lately about it. The thing most troubling, the majority of citizens he's recruiting (via govt funded travel tickets) end up in the TNT party.

I find this troubling because (a) why would anyone move to a country and simply join up a party without checking out the political scene and (b) Im suspicious that he's using the govt program as a private recruiting ground to enlarge his party. To date he's denied doing so and promises he's been on the up and up, but today again I find a new citizen recently moved joined the TNT party.

Again I have no evidence of him suggesting or recommending to our new citizens to join his party, but if hindsight was 20/20 I wouldnt have appointed him and I would have sought out a citizen without any political affiliations to the job. I just dont like coincidences like this, and honestly given his past (and that of some of those in his party) I dont think you can really blame my suspicions or reaction.

So in summary, while he's done a respectable job in the Recruitment Office, his past is extremely difficult to forget, let alone be deserving of trust when this stuff happened only a month ago.

s33val😛
Long time on again/off again citizen of Thailand which I think deserves some measure of respect as does his championing for the establishment of Estonia (his home nation). Other than that, politically, I think his resume is rather weak. And his initial support of Antonio only to be withdraw when the rest of his party became angered by the suggestion, really has me questioning his judgement and resolve of his decisions.

While I respect him a great deal, I dont think he's got the chops to run the nation at this time, and would be better served in a cabinet position to further learn the workings of government. Yes I know he was running the govt companies under Rockman, but I cant say whether that was a success or not as I honestly dont remember anything about the companies being mentioned.

Korbin King:
Was president of eUSA way back in the day, and his tax, minimum wage, and military "platform" are exactly what I would have liked to have happen...but Congress being what it is requires a lot of compromise.

Has the experience in govt, and I dont find his short time spent in Thailand to be an issue, because after all I was only in Thailand 2 months before I got elected. Has admitted weakness in the economic sector, and I would like to know exactly who these advisors will be. Also Im concerned about the possible removal of the "social" programs such as the Housing Lottery, and the Wellness Program. I think Thailand can definitely support both and still be a profitable nation.

If Im understanding him correctly, he's aiming for a small govt that will be more easily managable. Which will probably save him a lot more headaches than I had.

Jack Roberts:
(The Reluctant Candidate)
Im still standing by my initial feeling of not wanting to run. IRL workload increase is the main issue, though if push came to shove I could still do the job as President, just I dont think I would have the time to spend the 4-5 hours a day Id like to spend and average spending now.

Im a realist about one thing though...Thailand cannot run 3-4 candidates and expect any outcome other than a TNT victory. We saw how close last election was, and TNT will continue to turn out their "inactives" from their forum on election day and make it close or pull out a victory.

Im really torn about this election. I want to believe Antonio is a "changed man", but (and this but is especially for the new citizens) is 1 month really long enough ago that we can forgive and forget? My gut continues to feel like this is exactly the angle TNT is shooting for, playing the "redemption" card for all its worth and once they win, screw Thailand right the hell over again with some half-assed schemes and proposals.

One of their companies Thai Iron continues to ignore my requests to release some of its employees back to the work pool since they are operating at more than the maximum productivity...which seriously has me questioning if they as a whole give a hell about the good of Thailand. Perhaps you can argue its not govt's place to request that, but that's what it was...a request and not a demand. I could have asked for the whitelist to been reinstalled full force (which it never was) and really stirred up the pot, but I just sat and waited to see if they would come around, and they have not.

The TNT party isnt stupid, I will definitely say that about them...which is why Im stressing some caution if you are considering their candidates or their party. Im sorry to you Antonio, but that's how I truly feel. Its too soon and the wounds your party attempted to inflict and did inflict are still raw in the minds of a lot of Thailand's citizens.

That being said, I think s33vald, KK, and myself and the party leaders of TRP, SUP, TDP, and ISCP need to get together and decide together who will be our candidate for all of us. Otherwise, be ready to congratulate Antonio on his victory.