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August 29, 2004

Through an Elector's Eyes - Part VII: High on the Fourth of July

Have you ever noticed how governmental offices and positions are often associated with furniture? Take the President's Cabinet for example. It is full of Secretaries. Each in turn manages Bureaus of one variety or another. Oftentimes they Chair other governmental commissions and entities where they Table items for discussion. They do all this in the Seat of government, by the seat of their pants sometimes, seated around tables the dimensions of which are regularly disputed and articulated through diplomatic deliberations and protocol officers. Failing all else, important matters are resolved through our court system by approaching the Bench and asking for judgment in favor of one or another Stand on a matter. And how many times have you heard it stated that a certain politician is in Bed with a special interest group, or that politics makes strange bedfellows?

Now what has this to do with our current political cycle, you might ask? Well, it got me to thinking about the issue/non-response tactics being played out in the media. Have you noticed how our candidate will broach an issue of importance to our nation and challenge the Incumbent to respond? Almost every issue is worthy of debate and of serious significance to so many Americans that it should be addressed. But the response by the Incumbent is never forthcoming. He hides behind the furniture. Look at this whole Swift Boat thing.

Senator Kerry asks for a personal decision and appeals for direct intervention by the opposing candidate. What we get for days in the press is an army of under-surrogates responding. The Assistants to the Deputy Under-Secretaries to the Deputy Secretaries to the Secretaries over the Bureau of Electoral End-runs meet the press, face the nation, and make all the talk shows. Senator Edwards seeks a personal response, stating clearly it is a Moment of Truth for the candidate himself. The Incumbent's Assistant Media Secretary for Public Re-arrangements makes the circuit. Max Cleland knocks on that Texan's door and wants to hand the Incumbent a letter. Who answers the door? The Incumbent? No. Mrs. Incumbent? No. The front doorman? No. Who? Campaign cronies. And the newspaper delivery person. While out in the back yard, more Secretaries, Advisors, Assistant Advisors, and Special Assistant Advisors stand around the barbeque offering photo ops of them in blue denim shirts and rolled up sleeves. Close, but no candidate.

Therein lays the challenge facing our party. The other guy doesn't have to play. He wants our candidate to become mired in debate with unequal opponents. How does it look if you best a campaign manager on TV? Is it Presidential to become irritated by some distant District Bureau Chief of Campaign Incorrectness? Do we really need to go head-to-head with campaign volunteers and workers who memorize scripted responses to every issue, trying to lead the viewers back to their only officially approved position? Of course not, but pay attention to the undertow: that's all they are sending out to meet the public and it is sweeping our feet out from under us.

The Incumbent can barely speak poly-syllabic English, yet he claims he welcomes a national debate on the issues. Who is kidding whom? Though he has agreed to two debates, they have yet to occur, and I can think of five thousand reasons why he'll have to cancel between now and then. Heck, they might even find Bin Laden living in a rain barrel touring with a Taliban carnival before September 30th. So where is the real debate? How do we level the playing field? How does our party force the Incumbent out of the hole he jumped in after Saddam was pulled out of it? I for one believe we have something they have not. I'm not talking about having an ace in the hole. I'm thinking we have our own deck of 52 to go after them.

One thing our party gave the nation during the Primary season was to present our best faces forward. We had so many good people running for office the joke at the time was "Anybody but the Incumbent." Personally, while I respect all of them, I believe we have more than a few trump cards in the party. We have party members who can best the Incumbent while showing how equal he truly is. We have public speakers who can focus on the issues, and bring them in focus, in ten seconds or less. If the Incumbent doesn't want an equal debate, fine. Not counting our candidates, we have three that far exceed his rhetoric, clearly express their desires and intent, and are his equal. The Incumbent cannot keep up with the energy and sense of justice of Al Sharpton. He cannot match the articulation of Barrack Obama. He can never compare himself to the character and patriotism of Max Cleland. There are more just like them and you know who they are. America knows who they are.

I have heard that 3% of all Americans have tattoos. That is not so startling to me, but what catches my attention is that 51% of them want their tattoos removed. America doesn't have to wear the brand of this Incumbent any more. I believe more than 51% of Americans are going to say so on November 2nd. But please remember when you vote for Kerry/Edwards on the ballot you vote to send me as your Elector to the Electoral College. I want the experience of signing that letter to the Archivist of the United States, and I guarantee I will be voting the correct way on December 13th. I don't have any tattoos.

Get Out the Vote!

Ron Telsch
© R. Erich Telsch 2004

Posted by amahler at August 29, 2004 10:58 AM

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