Gazing Into the Future, Ignoring the Present
Today, the Denver Post reported that, according to Bob Woodward, Dick Cheney would seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2008. This weekend, a CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll revealed that registered Democrats heavily favor Hillary Clinton as their 2008 presidential nominee, while registered Republicans are split between Rudy Giuliani and John McCain. (Cheney was not considered a potential candidate when the poll was taken; my senator, Bill Frist, finished fourth among Republicans.) Several cable news programs have invited pundits to speculate about the 2008 race.
I was tempted to analyze recent speculation and polling data regarding the next presidential election; then I remembered that it is more than three years away. We are only nine months removed from the last election, and some prospective presidential candidates have 2006 races to worry about.
Our culture seems to value candidates more for winning elections (or at least running good races) more than for what they actually do as elected officials. I don't care for President Bush, but he is our president and will be for another three years. Instead of wasting time speculating about who might replace Bush in a few years, I think my time would be better spent petitioning the president and my other elected representatives about issues that are important to me (even if they have never listened to me before). Policy is not made in elections but in the halls of government.
Unfortunately, many politicians seem more concerned about being re-elected or crafting their legacies than about doing what is best for their constituents. Ridiculous amendments are tacked onto bills that legislators will have to vote for for PR reasons. Our leaders are more concerned about how much money is spent on education, defense, and so forth than they are about how that money is spent. After all, responsible and effective use of resources is difficult to explain in a 30-second television spot.
Our elected representatives, whether we like them or not, do a very important job, even if we don't approve of how they are doing it; the rest of us need to remember that being involved in the political process is not limited to voting. We need to keep tabs on those who represent us and save campaigning for election years.
I was tempted to analyze recent speculation and polling data regarding the next presidential election; then I remembered that it is more than three years away. We are only nine months removed from the last election, and some prospective presidential candidates have 2006 races to worry about.
Our culture seems to value candidates more for winning elections (or at least running good races) more than for what they actually do as elected officials. I don't care for President Bush, but he is our president and will be for another three years. Instead of wasting time speculating about who might replace Bush in a few years, I think my time would be better spent petitioning the president and my other elected representatives about issues that are important to me (even if they have never listened to me before). Policy is not made in elections but in the halls of government.
Unfortunately, many politicians seem more concerned about being re-elected or crafting their legacies than about doing what is best for their constituents. Ridiculous amendments are tacked onto bills that legislators will have to vote for for PR reasons. Our leaders are more concerned about how much money is spent on education, defense, and so forth than they are about how that money is spent. After all, responsible and effective use of resources is difficult to explain in a 30-second television spot.
Our elected representatives, whether we like them or not, do a very important job, even if we don't approve of how they are doing it; the rest of us need to remember that being involved in the political process is not limited to voting. We need to keep tabs on those who represent us and save campaigning for election years.
posted by Tinley | 5:55 PM
1 Comments:
i find this type of speculation interesting as our information age things are exponentially speeding up why do we think that usual suspects will even have relevance in three years. however, i'd go mcain or giuliani. however, they are moderates and i'd have a hard time seeing them get the nod if current polarized conservatism continues as it is. wait, i just speculated, dang-it.
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