The downward spiral of our presidential politics

 

In what seems to be a chicken-and-egg sort of question, the U.S. presidential race, as well as our civility toward each other, have both hit new lows. Are the dirty tricks that both parties are playing "trickling down" to the population at large? Or are we truly so divided as a country that this grass roots hatred is simply manifesting itself on the highest stage?

I find it frustrating to try to discuss any sort of political issue these days, because people are so ingrained in what their "side" is force-feeding them on TV or radio, they don't take the time to use any critical thinking in regards to the issue. Nope, sound bites are what it's all about. Depending upon whom you talk to, either Michael Moore or Rush Limbaugh is the antichrist ... while the other one is generally regarded as brilliant and the only one really speaking the truth.

I think both men are very dangerous types, in that they are so far from the center, they refuse to even listen (much less process) any reasoning from the other side.

How have we reached this point? Bush and Kerry (or their respective campaigns, if you prefer) continue to blast each other for things done decades ago, when each one was a young man. How many of us have made mistakes in our younger years? I'd really prefer a candidate who has made mistakes, learned from them, and grown - from either party.

Equally frustrating is how both sides lie about the other side's records. The vast majority of legislation that goes through Congress and onto the President's desk are not black-and-white issues dealing with one topic. Sometimes, a vote or a veto is about a minor portion of the bill, or because a stronger bill was preferred. And yet, both the Democrats and the Republicans jump on voting records, intentionally skewing the facts, so it looks like the other candidate voted against senior citizens or for a wasteful program. Maybe they can call it distorting, which might sound slightly less distasteful, but it still boils down to lying in my book.

My point? I certainly won't tell you who to vote for, I'm disappointed that neither Bush nor Kerry has chosen to take the high road. But I do implore you to dig a little deeper into all the issues that are important to you, instead of taking the simplistic "party line" from attack commercials or the talking heads on CNN or the Fox News Channel. Let's not build an iron curtain across the center of America ... after 228 years, aren't we a little more sophisticated than that?

Paul J. Heney
senior editor
pheney@penton.com