Can't Help Myself
It's kind of an addiction, I guess. I just can't help myself when it comes to reading about the strains and struggles of the political classes and their meanderings as they claim various influences over our daily lives. I get very caught up in what's up with all things political on most days and now that the NY Times (and all other publications) are online and I can link to just about anyone else on the planet that's writing about the political scene, I spend way too much time reading, weighing, obsessing over what all these "leaders" are up to.
Maybe I need a life.
But. This brings me to the next presidential election, which, of course, has already begun in earnest. It worries me that we've started a national trend of starting these election cycles earlier and earlier each time, and are now poised for the longest general election in history http://nationaljournal.com/todd.htm.
These are not stupid people, but I have to wonder at their wisdom at all agreeing to start so soon. Yes, I know the current system of fundraising and need for being in the media spotlight demands it, but if you look at the psychology of it - we all end up losers. We have this natural tendency to build people up for a period of time, only to then find all ways possible to find flaws with them and knock them back down to the point that by the time we get to the actual election we are so sick of both major party candidates that we'd all like to see anyone other than the guys we chose in the primaries to get the job.
Sure, we need transparency and knowledge about the candidates, but the coverage is so slanted towards quick sound bites and obfuscation of actual positions on issues that we don't really know what they're about until the Cabinet and staff is announced and the first crisis is faced anyway (witness our current adiministration).
It just seems like there has to be a better way of doing this. I think I'd rather see Clinton, Obama, McCain, and everyone else spend 2007 actually exhibiting leadership qualities either through the work they do in governing or laying out substantive policy positions that can be debated and discussed than all the time they will spend courting favor with the moneyed interests and hopping around the country to shore up political support.
It's unfortunate that the trend seems to be for the states to move their primaries up rather than back just so they can theoretically influence the choosing of the candidates. If everyone stepped back and took a breath and those wishing to run waited until later this year to announce they were running, and if the primaries all were closer to the June timeframe, we might then have candidates and a populace that could stay focused on what is important (as opposed to Swift boating each other), and we might actually get excited about choosing a President.
Of course, just to get rid of the current one may be exciting enough in itself.
Maybe I need a life.
But. This brings me to the next presidential election, which, of course, has already begun in earnest. It worries me that we've started a national trend of starting these election cycles earlier and earlier each time, and are now poised for the longest general election in history http://nationaljournal.com/todd.htm.
These are not stupid people, but I have to wonder at their wisdom at all agreeing to start so soon. Yes, I know the current system of fundraising and need for being in the media spotlight demands it, but if you look at the psychology of it - we all end up losers. We have this natural tendency to build people up for a period of time, only to then find all ways possible to find flaws with them and knock them back down to the point that by the time we get to the actual election we are so sick of both major party candidates that we'd all like to see anyone other than the guys we chose in the primaries to get the job.
Sure, we need transparency and knowledge about the candidates, but the coverage is so slanted towards quick sound bites and obfuscation of actual positions on issues that we don't really know what they're about until the Cabinet and staff is announced and the first crisis is faced anyway (witness our current adiministration).
It just seems like there has to be a better way of doing this. I think I'd rather see Clinton, Obama, McCain, and everyone else spend 2007 actually exhibiting leadership qualities either through the work they do in governing or laying out substantive policy positions that can be debated and discussed than all the time they will spend courting favor with the moneyed interests and hopping around the country to shore up political support.
It's unfortunate that the trend seems to be for the states to move their primaries up rather than back just so they can theoretically influence the choosing of the candidates. If everyone stepped back and took a breath and those wishing to run waited until later this year to announce they were running, and if the primaries all were closer to the June timeframe, we might then have candidates and a populace that could stay focused on what is important (as opposed to Swift boating each other), and we might actually get excited about choosing a President.
Of course, just to get rid of the current one may be exciting enough in itself.
posted by Paul Salinger at 6:44 AM
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