politics as usual

Let's not talk about the debate, or the economy, or Iraq, or anything else from this election.

Thought: while living overseas, I paid zero attention to American politics in general and just barely enough attention to the presidential elections as to confirm the nature of my vote.

Now that I am home, and now that it is an election season, it seems I'm as obsessed with the electoral map and outlining key issues as I am with the Phillies. But I wonder how I'm going to feel exactly one year from today. Am I going to care as deeply or as passionately or as consistently about, say, the selection of Supreme Court justices?

Honestly? No. Sad. How about you? Will you care a year from now?

I have spoken to a few people recently about the 24-hour news cycle. I know I am not crazy about it, but I've had a hard time figuring out why. But I think I'm onto something.

I think that the constant flow of news makes it difficult for us to separate the signal from the noise. Is the ACORN thing important? How about ties to the Keating Five? Maybe yes, maybe no. But when those things get as much air time as the war, there is a problem. Is there any way to fix this problem?

Well, I have a thought. The pre-election voter registration drives and calls to activism are great. Truly American. But where does all that energy go once the election is over? Why does it seem like we only care about these issues in the months leading up to a big November?

Lobbyists and political activists often get a bad rap in this country, sometimes for good reason. But one thing they do is keep a constant focus on issues at hand, regardless of whether it's October 2008 or February 2006.

I think all of us need to be doing that, in a very real way. Perhaps I am underestimating America (or at least the readership of this blog) when I say that I doubt any of you out there are as politically active or vocal as you are during election season. But if that were the case, then none of those campaign tricks would make a bit of difference in the polls or in the outcome of the election. However, close observation of the polls reveals that those campaign tricks do, in fact, work. What does that tell us?

The 24-hour news cycle is not going away. So it is up to us to demand real news, all the time, so that when election time comes around, none of the nonsense will get in the way of figuring out who the candidates are and what they stand for. The candidates themselves will be forced to outline these things clearly, and the media will be forced to convey this information to the consumers. Think of it as trickle down pandering.

One final point, in the form of a question: who is the politician pictured?