Commentary: If the two weeks since the Republican National Convention is any indication of what we can expect the presidential campaign to look like, then we will not only be denied a genuine campaign, we will be subjected to an insulting barrage of juvenile antics not worthy of a sophisticated electorate.

     It is not just that we spend three days talking about lipstick on animals. It is not just that the only television commercials we have seen look like they were produced by first year cinema students. It not just that the political strategies being utilized could have come from a campaign for elementary school class president.

     John McCain, Sarah Palin and the Republican party has so far engaged in campaign laden with racial code words, fear-mongering, and promoting a cult of personality. They have used false emotion to engage the media in distraction, feigning outrage and surprise at the words of their Democratic rivals.

     Barack Obama and the Democrats, meanwhile, have fallen back on their elitists attitude, assuring us that the voters are too smart to fall for the same old routines. He talks down to voters and when he finally displays the slightest bit of emotion, it is clear that he did because he has been advised to do so. And Joseph Biden this week revealed that he has never recovered from foot-in-mouth disease, simultaneously denigrating himself and the top of the ticket by implying that Obama made a mistake by not choosing Hillary R. Clinton to be his running mate.

     I’m not foolish to believe that we could ever see a campaign on issues. Nor would I really want to see such a campaign. It would be boring! Discussing the minutia of foreign policy would result in a million new diagnosis of ADD. A line item review of budgetary priority would exhaust the attention span of every accountant in the nation.

     No, I’m not asking for an issue oriented campaign. But is it too much to ask for the campaigns to act like adults, to discuss their philosophical differences, to address real needs of America rather than “sanctity of marriage” or the “protection of working families.” Instead of “No New Taxes” or “Privatization of Social Security” tell us how far the government should go in providing individual services or restricting individual rights. Tell us how the national government fits into modern federalism. Tell us how America should intereact with the 21st century global community. Tell us how they will judge who are our allies and enemies, home and abroad.

     In the process, use you comparative ads. Go ahead and oversimplify if necessary to fit into a 30-second package. I can deal with that. I can deal with the using the mediums available and the limitations that involves. I can deal with opinion polls, voter surveys, and the need to motivate your base.

     What I shouldn’t accept is triviality. What I can’t accept is falsehood. What I won’t accept is an insult to the American voter and to the complexities of our political system.

Daniel Sachs,
editor, D.C.’s Political Report

Joni Finegold,
PhD student, George Mason Univesity.

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