Who's your candidate?

I'm one of those people. Yup. Like most people I know, or at least those I'm comfortable talking politics with, I don't have the stamina nor stomach to stay very engrossed in this drama. Not at this point anyway.

Yeah yeah, I know it's important. And every vote counts. But as much as I'd like to care more, it just seems like our nation's politics is a game played by those whose primary reason for playing is to be part of the scene. Is it just me or does it seem like today's crop of politicians have more in common with Paris Hilton than with Winston Churchill? Is it the rich media factor that demands our leaders be judged in part on their "star power?" We keep hearing, and talk about choosing our leaders based on issues, but doesn't it seem that as we winnow the true contenders from the field that the actual distinguishing factor is often charisma? Hey, I'm all for a good looking President to represent us to the world, but honestly I'd rather have one that God gave second helpings on brains and character.

Maybe our political system is just so cumbersome and entangled that even the most chaste and quixotic candidates find themselves pushing against overwhelming inertia - and that's if they've got any resolve or ambition left over after actually getting into office. Or maybe it's because our country is so vast, with so many constituencies and problems that Presidents and Vice Presidents can only really drive a handful of decisions. After all, our elections mostly boil down to deciding between 2 or 3 issues. We kick off campaign seasons with what looks like a promising Chinese menu of choices - pick 2 from column A, 1 from column B... When we get to the voting booth, the decision often boils down to which candidate comes closest to matching my view on my top two issues.

Most unfortunately, even if your candidate wins, that doesn't in and of itself spawn the idealized changes and improvements promised in all the campaign rhetoric. Your candidate needs some downtime to recover from a grueling campaign, get familiar with the new job (find out where they keep the Presidential terry robes and such), spend time thanking all the folks who helped them get elected, and hobnob with all the other people who have to ratify or support decisions. And don't forget all the photo and media opportunities that need to be prioritized because after all image is what it's all about. After awhile, when something that looks like the change/reform/proposition which we pinned our emotional and electoral support to makes its way into the policy arena, it kicks off a round of maneuvering between opposing forces that exhausts time, energy, and patience. The result is usually some insipid residue of that shining beacon of campaign promises (I think the technical term for this is 'compromise').

Maybe the truth is that it's our own fault. If the way I feel about our political system and its curators is even somewhat prevalent among the people of this country, if we don't have the time or will to demand better, then we shouldn't wonder that we have a system that perpetuates the hegemony of a select group who spend more time and energy propping up the system than actually solving problems. Certainly our own apathy is at play here. There was a time when some people didn't have the right to vote, and those people fought and died for that right. That still goes on in other lands outside of the good old US of A. Perhaps we as a nation feel so entitled to vote that it has become a chore rather than a right. Oh yeah, every 4 years, like clockwork - sometimes it feels just like bringing your car in for scheduled maintenance. It's annoying but you know it's gotta be done. And you hope they don't find anything seriously wrong, and that it won't cost too much. Oh, by the way, maybe you let them know about that passenger door that doesn't close right.

Maybe we as a society have created a political system that is so mundane that its main purpose is to keep itself running without changing anything too drastically, and that's why we only deal with these decisions every 4 years. Maybe we've graduated to more important debates such as what exactly is wrong with Britney? Or whether Bonds' record should have an asterisk behind it. Maybe we deserve what we get.