As I sit down to write the inaugural entry in this blog, the election quickly approaches. Media sources are inundated by partisan squabbles over minutiae occasionally interrupted by turgid rhetoric promising to return our nation to its rightful place in History. The necessary volition to undertake this project came as I sat down the morning after Governor Palin’s convention speech and immersed myself with expert analysis of her performance. The media, from print to punditry, lined up to heap praise upon her performance. Not of her policy preferences or her explanation of her record, which were highlighted only by their omission, but as a piece of theatre. She stirred up partisan rancor and moved the debate away from the relevant, ignoring the critical issues affecting our nation.
I do not believe myself naive. I hardly expected either convention to engage in substantive argument or reasoned critique of their opponents, but the layer of analysis provided by pundits and journalists alike was so thin it could no longer presume to be wrapped around any sort of meaning. That realization was the genesis of this blog. Not to advocate for any certain political point of view or set of policies, but to have an honest discussion about the challenges facing all aspects of American life from within and without.
We are always looking for contributors. Feel free to contact us if you feel you have something to say. We would love to make this the forum for that expression. This will be the first of many posts and hopefully the beginning of a reasoned and lively debate.
The Hamiltonian
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1 comment:
What comes to mind after having read this inaugural blog, is the sad truth that these conventions and indeed the campaign for presidency as a whole has been boiled down to a sickening back and forth of name calling, where the candidate who has the most money in order to run the most negative ads wins.
In my mind, it has been Karl Rove who has lead this devolution to childhood name-calling. What is worse however, is that this tactic of name calling works, and is the best way to reach the American people and to sway them.
It seems that the Obama campaign hopes that enough voters will respect his approach at trying to stay above the fray, but I fear that Obama will need to succumb to ridiculous attacks in order to reach the majority of voters, who are worried about the person running more than the candidates approach or views on the issues.
Furthermore, I cannot understand how ads and campaigning changes a person's view on whom to vote for. I knew months and months ago whom I would vote for, based not on who is running, but the simplicity of looking into the candidates' voting records and stances on issues, and then deciding which candidate I agree with more.
It must be said however, that I doubt that I will ever vote Republican. This is because I disagree with Republican ideology on nearly every issue. John McCain, I must admit is the only Republican I can imagine agreeing with at all, but I still am appalled by 95% of what he says and believes.
Governor Palin has furthered this movement toward voting based on personality rather than issues. I have extended family who tell me that they trust Palin because she's their kind of woman, because she hunts and has no links to Washington. And indeed Obama's personality and gravitas are one of the major reasons that he has done so well, which I could not care less about.
It makes me wonder if the American public will ever decide to vote on the issues regardless of who the candidate may be, and if we will ever regain our separation of public and private, because as it stands now, the private lives of our candidates seem to be highlighted more than their public stances on issues.
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