Why Are Presidential Politics So Ugly?
That’s a rhetorical question – obviously they are. I’ve had some spirited discussions lately but nothing quite this exciting:
At that point one of the arguers, Johnny Morales, 26, got out of his seat, grabbed the other arguer by his head “and slammed it into the wall, causing a minor laceration with bleeding to the back of the victim’s head.”
Don’t worry. This whole thing will be over in exactly three weeks.
I’ll be live-blogging the third and final presidential debate on Wednesday, October 15th. The candidates will clash at Hofstra University in New York. The topic is domestic policy and it all kicks off at 9:00 PM EDT. I’ll be up and running prior to that. Stop by and say hello.
Have you ever wondered how the candidates prepare for these “do or die” debates? Foreign Policy has an interesting article right here. Check it out to see the lengths that some candidates have gone over the years to ensure a top-notch performance.
Personally, I got a chuckle out of this:
Last week we noted unconfirmed sightings of an “Obama for President” billboard in the Xbox 360 racing game Burnout Paradise. Today we’re able to report that it is, in fact, an official advertisement placed by the senator’s campaign team.
It’s unclear how effective this will be but, if nothing else, it illustrates the generational gaps between the two campaigns.
Be sure to stop by and interact during the debate. I will be including reader reactions and comments into my updates. If you want to speak your mind you have several ways of reaching me:
1) Comment directly on the live thread
2) Email me directly through the contact tab
3) Twitter
4) Facebook
5) My super-secret Skype account
I’ll see you there!
About the Author: Randall H. Miller is an American college educator/blogger. He is also a former U.S. Army officer (82nd Airborne) with a M.A. in Diplomacy (focusing on International Terrorism) and a B.A. in Criminal Justice. Use the form on the right to sign up and receive notifications of new content. The words and ideas expressed here are 100% his own and not those of his employers or affiliated organizations.
dickmill | Oct 14, 2008 | Reply
@Randy
“Don’t worry. This whole thing will be over in exactly three weeks.”
You must be not be watching the campaign! No matter who wins, the opposite extremists are going to start work on the next 3 presidential elections with the same smears, lies, mud, etc. that the electoral process has become. The presidential election campaign is now offically 4 years long (thanks cable news!)
We have significant (unlearned) lessons which portend the future. When Kissenger couldn’t negotiate an end to the Vietnamese War, he said it was because “not enough people have been killed yet”, i.e there wasn’t enough pain on either side to capitulate.
When the stock market dives, everyone looks for “capitulation”, that point when everyone gives up, i.e. they’ve endured enough pain. People always make that call before the real bottom.
Recall the lessons of “West Side Story” (or “Romeo and Juliet, where it came from.) The Sharks and the Jets “rumbled”, but it took the actual killing of icons on each side before they stood still, finally realized what their hatred had done, and walked away in shame.
Our political process won’t begin to heal itself until the Sharks and Jets finally cause events which make everyone stop in place and walk away in shame.
What will that event be? Assasination would do the trick, most likely. Maybe a few riots that kill a lot of innocent people? Whatever it is, it has to be vile enough to stop the insanity which is our “democratic” political cesspool.
Think seriously for a moment. Will the loonies on the left be satisfied with Tina Fey, David Letterman, or Jay Leno mocking Palin for 4 years?
Will the loonies on the right sit idly while a black president governs? A minority man from 12% of the US population who isn’t “like” a great many other people.
I’m afraid that this election is about much more than economics or war. Sad.
RHM | Oct 15, 2008 | Reply
@dickmill
Sadly, I think you’re spot on.
The right went crazy for 8 years under Bill Clinton and even he didn’t have as much controversy around him as Obama.
The left (and many others) have been equally unhinged during these 8 years of Bush. However, IMHO, Bush has earned every bit of it.
Politicians are famous for asking the question “are you better off than you were 4 years ago?” or variations of the question. Can anyone truly say that things have been better under Bush than they were under Clinton?
Personally, I never voted for Clinton and didn’t care much for him. But putting personal ideology and preferences aside reveals something glaringly obvious – we were better off in almost all categories during his 2 administrations.
Few things piss off Republicans more than Democratic success. And I fear they will do anything to sabotage it, even if the result is harm to the United States.
Kinda like the bad guys on “24″ who plot and execute heinous crimes against the country but in their own twisted world they’re the only “real patriots” and the only ones who really care.
Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition.
RHM
The Missing Master Linc | Oct 15, 2008 | Reply
My introduction to “ugly” in politics was in Chicago, Illinois. Year was 1994. One of the candidates in the gubernatorial campaign was Dawn Clark Netsch, a woman who had made her way up the Democratic Party, first, as a delegate to the state constitutional convention in 1969 and, subsequently, as the state controller. As an aspirant candidate in 1994, her physical appearance and wardrobe choices became the subject of open and vile jokes among her opponents. I remember one political commentator actually saying that “the truth is ugly” in reference to the perceived less-than-attractive physique of Ms. Clark Netsch. I was particularly “hurt” by the crass level of downright disrespect that the Chicago media in general and her opponents showed her. I’m not sure, to this day, about the role that this experience played in driving her completely away from political life in Illinois.
Kenya’s elections of 2007 was so defective that it still lacks a “legitimate” sitting government. Of course, that is on the extreme spectrum of the “ugly” meter. But “ugly” seems to be part and parcel of the political landscape.
Frank the Tank | Oct 17, 2008 | Reply
Here’s a story about an ugly incident.
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/obama-supporter-assaults-female-mccain-volunteer-in-new-york/
Frank the Tank | Oct 17, 2008 | Reply
One more story.
http://www.myfoxorlando.com/myfox/MyFox/pages/sidebar_video.jsp?contentId=7664458&version=1&locale=EN-US
One thing i learned in college was that those on the left, the ones talking about diversity and free speech were the most intolerant of speech that they didn’t approve of. Myself and my cousin put out a free conservative newsletter each month for students to read. Every time we left them around one of the “progressive”, as they called them selves back then, students would just take them and toss them all in the trash.
RHM | Oct 17, 2008 | Reply
I agree, Frank, and it bugs the hell out of me when conservatives are silenced (especially on campus).
Ann Coulter and the like (regardless of what I personally may think of them) have a right to be heard just us as much as anyone else.
Unfortunately, they are consistently interfered with or disrupted by nutbars on the left. What are they afraid of? If the ultra-conservative way is so wrong (and I think it is) then let it be heard and judged on its own merits.
Sometimes those who claim to be most open-minded are actually the least tolerant.
RHM