Musings

Thank you, GraphJam. Frequently they’re just dumb or tired memes, but this one is all too true.

As Obama pointed out back at the primary debate at Drexel in November, we’re in the “silly season of politics,” where the campaigns and the media pull out all the stops to harp on anything except the issues that really matter. Yes, this is an historic election, for African-Americans and women alike. Sure, some people are ignorant and will base their votes on things like race and gender. But I like to hope that in 21st century America, a significant enough number of people have evolved to look past such things to what’s really important: policy stances and leadership ability. Apparently the mainstream media doesn’t agree.

I’m also sick of the meticulous poll tracking that has been going on. There are new polls every day, and they tend to follow the predictable jumps around conventions, VP announcements, etc. Maybe I’m just a cynic when it comes to statistics, but I don’t feel like one candidate jumping ahead of another for a few days in a few polls is anything to get riled up over. The only poll that really matters is the one on November 4th.

And last, but probably most important, people need to check their facts a lot more, and the candidates need to stop twisting each others’ words (It’s a lofty hope, but a girl can dream, right?). Something that’s been driving me crazy lately is the McCain commercial that says Obama is going to raise taxes on YOU. But unless you make over $200,000/year, or $250,000 as a family, that’s simply not true. (See also Tax Policy Center’s most recent comparison of the candidates’ plans.) The McCain campaign is taking advantage of the traditional view of Democrats as tax-raisers to distort the truth. Yes, taxes will increase on the wealthy, businesses, etc…but not on the middle-class working families and individuals that these ads are targeted to scare.

The Internet has helped bring more transparency to politics, since you can easily access candidates’ official platforms on their websites, and utilize non-partisan sites like FactCheck.org and Project Vote Smart to verify the consistency of candidates’ words and actions. But I have to wonder, how many people really do the research? Certainly, it’s still much easier to get our information from 30-second spots.

Here’s to hoping that the upcoming debates will be a bit more focused on policy than flag pins, for the good of the candidates and the voters alike. America needs some honest, informative debate to help it make this decision.