Election Reflections

The Sun Also Rises: Today's voting may establish new turnout records. That's good. It marks the closing day of a presidential election which began 19 months ago. That's bad. Or, is it? Much has been written about the short, peppy political campaigns in Great Britain and the Euro nations. Converted to our political system, primaries would begin in April and the general election on Labor Day. If that were the case, unknown national candidates such as Barack Obama wouldn't stand a chance to compete. Neither would favorite sons and daughters, harking back to the pre-primary convention days. Only long-established Washington politicians, perhaps a popular governor in a large state or a well-known corporate executive would emerge in an abbreviated campaign cycle. Don't fix it even if it appears broke. The campaigns are too expensive. That's bad. Or, is it? The presidential campaigns have raised and will spend nearly $2 billion. Think for a minute where that money is flowing. Yes, campaign consultants and chief staff members are paid handsome salaries. On the other hand, most of the money is spent in small communities of Iowa and New Hampshire, in particular, but also in the large urban centers for television and newspaper ads. The campaign staffs and their entourage spend millions for food, drinks, hotels, private security, supplies and sundry other services. It's a mini economic stimulus package. Smart small and large city mayors insist the campaigns pay them for local services their police and firemen provide. Certainly, the system is flawed. The two major political parties should agree to divide the country into sections balancing the East, South, Midwest and Pacific region states into consolidated primaries. The debate formats are atrocious, especially when equal time is delegated in a 90-minute airing spread among 11 candidates. From those, we hear only canned talking points and an occasional zinger. The final debates before the conventions and general election in which only two or three candidates remain standing should be a free-flow of ideas and positions quarterbacked by a moderator allowed to ask follow-up questions. And, then there's the media, the 400-pound gorilla in the room. Is it biased? Damn right! But, is it? To address this question properly is to search all the news gathering stories and opinions in newspapers, television, websites and blogs. Combined, what a voter is looking for is there. Somewhere. For example, take the major cable news networks. Fox slants its coverage in favor of Republican conservatives. MSNBC takes the opposite approach. CNN strives to be middle-of-the road except for Lou Dobbs. CNBC focuses on the economic impact of the two political parties. The Drudge Report breaks news. The Huffington Post and MoveOn.Org lean to the left and further. Rush Limbaugh leads conservative talk radio. The thing is, people are attracted to forums in which they agree and feel most comfortable. We no longer live in an era in which the New York Times, CBS, NBC and ABC speak for all of us. So, what about the voter who remains uninformed until the final days of an election? Would it be presumptuous to ask: Do your homework! Collectively, American voters are uncanny is making the right decision. And, the sun will rise tomorrow morning.

The Audacity of Scarcity: Years ago, California's Jerry Brown, a brilliant Jesuit, terrific politician and mediocre governor, chided his state's minions to "lower your horizons." He was addressing the baby boomer generation who grew up in an economic climate where anything could be achieved. Not much has changed as the boomers reach Social Security age and the generations that followed them continue to press for the material things in life. Those days are gone, folks. The current economic meltdown coincidentally colliding with a new political era has sprung us into a world of which we never dreamed. Now's the time for some major belt-tightening. We've seen early glimpses of the public adjusting to high gasoline, energy and food prices. Fewer toys for the children and grandchildren. Less demand for SUVs. One trip to the grocery store rather than two or more per week. Less travel on vacations. And, the biggest surprise of all -- Americans receiving economic stimulus checks from the government last July placed two-thirds of the money in savings. Because of the credit crunch, the favorite game of homeowners using the equity in their houses as an ATM machine is long gone. Not surprisingly, Main Street is years ahead of the politicians spending our money in Washington. There is no way in hell the new congress under either a McCain or Obama administration will not raise taxes -- even if only half of their domestic and foreign spending budgets are adopted that were proposed during the campaigns. Balancing the budget in four years? Forget it. There's rumors the Democrats want to cut the Defense budget by 25%. That doesn't sit well for national security where a scalpel rather than an ax may be the better solution. The list is endless. The new president faces a formidable challenge because there is such a scarcity of resources to tinker with. The margin of error is zilch. The public's getting the hang of it. Now, it's up to our leaders.