Is it me or is this the never-ending election? Somewhere around the time that Huckabee dropped out and Obama and Clinton were sparring, I stopped paying attention. I still felt the responsibility to be educated but I just couldn’t muster the interest.
When the Democratic National Convention rolled around, that pretty much changed. Since that time, I’ve noticed a lot about the back and forth between the two parties and their candidates. It seems that at this point we’re hearing more about why you shouldn’t vote for the other guy than why you should vote for this guy. That being said, there are many valid points (experience does matter) and there are some points that insult the intelligence of voters (her daughter is PREGNANT!).
Then there are points that I think are just bad arguments. They argue against the very nature of the beast. I don’t like to see them brought up and I don’t like to hear potential voters echoing them, as if they were valid. Without getting into the specifics of who I’m voting for, or who’s guilty of what (that’s another blog…), here’s my short list of bad political arguments:
1. “That was okay, but that speech was totally written by someone else!” Yes, we know. I mean I hate to be the one to break it to you, but they are ALL written by someone else. Those rousing words that inspired you and brought tears to your eyes (crying at political events is also another blog) were not entirely the candidate’s. It shouldn’t be a shock or a surprise and it should definitely not be an argument. And on the subject of speeches, I’m not really looking for a great speech giver. It’s the moments when there are no pre-determined words that I think are the most revealing.
2. “But he’s so mean!” While I don’t want any candidate going around calling their opponents poopie face, I think a level of “back and forth” is to be expected. Both parties are guilty. Both candidates are guilty. It may not be the way we want to see politics handled, but this election will not be the one to break the mold. It’s too late for that now.
3. “But his national convention speech had no specifics!” No, none of them really did. We haven’t heard many specifics from either candidate. And I’m not sure that the national convention is the place to do it. I think we’ll see more information at the debates. If by that point, we know the candidate’s hopes and dreams but we don’t know how they plan on getting there, it’s a problem. For now, although it would be awesome for the American people to know what the candidates are planning, it’s not the best tactic in terms of political strategy. When you unveil plans to the American people, you also unveil them to your opponent…
4. “But I don’t care who you are, tell me about your policies!” There’s been criticism about candidates focusing too much on who they are or on biographical elements. If you refer to #3, my thinking is that this isn’t the time for policy specifics in the election run. That being said, what better time to try and learn about your candidate? Without taking away from the importance of policies and stances, I want to know who my candidate is! You can have the perfect plan but I want to know if you are the type of person who can follow it through. I want to know what people say about you when you are there and when you are not. I want to know about your life and how you responded to pressure situations. I want to know what you’ve done in your career to deserve to be named the president of our country. I know things can get skewed through the media, but I want my candidate to sit well with me, both with what he believes, how he presents himself and what his life story says about him.
Mind you, this isn’t a commentary on how I think elections should be conducted, but more on how they already are. Hey, I didn’t invent any of this… And also, in the above blog, you can substitute any “him” for “hers.” Just got a little confusing after a bit…
Got any bad arguments of your own? Add them below.
I had complained about the lack of real substance in the candidates' acceptance speeches at their conventions (here's my RNC blog, and the DNC blog) but you raise a good point about the fact that the debates are coming up. If by then we still don't know what "change" or "experience" entails, then they're just empty slogans.
I think it's a valid observation and something that most voters must be frustrated with. I just don't think that it should be used as an argument for or against any candidate. I'm very much looking forward to the debates. I think they will be very telling.
~ElegantFree~