Rick Raw: Campaign Overkill–Candidates Devalued by Overexposure

By Rick Grant rickgrant01@comcast.net http://www.rickatnight.com/

As the presidential campaigns sprint to the finish of the race, they have already stated their platforms ad nauseam and given umpteen speeches about what a great president they will make. Media scrutiny has maxed out. Frankly, I’m sick and tired of hearing the candidates voices and vicious attacks on one another. At this point, enough already. Shut up and take a break until election day. In fact, I voted early, November 20th.

The problem is: The campaigns are run by the candidates’ handlers–campaign managers, speech writers, political strategists, pollsters, and other soothsayers–all telling the candidates that they should say this or that to boost their poll numbers. Over the dragged-out stomp, the candidates become puppets to these advisors who claim to understand the complex mathematics of presidential politics. In the end, it’s a crap shoot.

When John Q. Voter goes into the voting booth they vote with their heart on the issues that they feel are important. By now, the so called undecided should have some idea as to their candidate’s leanings. If JFK was reincarnated and was running as a Republican, I wouldn’t vote for him. I loathe Republicans. They are the uptight conservatives, preachers, evangelicals, and all the people I believe are charlatans, grifters, liars, blowhard radio talk show hosts, and false prophets.

Yeah, I’m taking a chance on Obama. He can’t be any worse than W. Thanks to the instantly reactive, twenty-four hour news media, I’ve heard everything he has to say. I know his biography. Now, we are "discovering" Sarah Palin in such depth, we’ll know what kind of underwear she wears and what brand of toothpaste she uses. But come on, Palin is a pretty distraction with a strident voice. Now, McCain insiders are saying Palin has gone rogue and acts like a diva.

Knowledge is power, but too much information boggles the mind. We live under the magnifying glass of instant, continuous news coverage. The media goes for the jugular. If it bleeds it leads. One wonders how an ordinary person like Sarah Palin can stand the media scrutiny. I couldn’t pass muster. They would dredge up my life in the sixties and seventies. Mercifully, I don’t remember most of it or I’ve repressed the memories. The media would have me for breakfast.

On the eve of election day, the news media has saturated the airwaves with election minutia, devaluating both presidential candidates. The networks present endless talking heads analyzing and speculating about every aspect of the candidates’ lives and platforms. More significantly, the candidates’ soothsayers have reduced their candidates to parodies of themselves. The whole sorry business goes on far too long and voters tune out the noise. I hit the mute button frequently.

American elections have always been messy, undignified affairs of pomposity and overkill. Now, with the science of polling and satellite media speculation, the public is inundated with an overabundance of data about the candidates. But in the end, it’s one person inside a voting booth making their decision. All that other stuff is so much microwave transmission through the air.