In the past I have always enjoyed watching and listening to all the political bickering and meaningless banter that goes on between candidates during their race for the White House.

    This year it has all struck me a little different. Ok, it has all struck me a lot different.  There certain things, little things and not so little things that are starting to bug me about the way we go about this whole process.  It’s not that I disagree with our process of electing a President.  It’s all the things we do to the process that’s bugging me.  So please bear with me as I get this off my chest.

    The first thing that’s really getting under my skin is all of the endless polling that goes on during an election.  Polls are taken daily, even hourly.  It’s almost as if the actual act of voting itself is a mere formality.  We know daily which candidate is leading in the polls, which demographic will vote for who and why and how certain statements made by candidates make us feel.  Can’t we just listen to what the candidates have to say, have a vote and see what happens?  I think that would be a lot more interesting.

    The next two things actually go together.  One is all of the apologizing that goes on and the other is all of those who seem to make a living being offended and who demand apologies.  It’s not that I’m against apologies.  In many situations they can go a long way in healing a relationship.  But when a candidate, his/her spouse, a campaign staffer or a supporter gets up and speaks their mind, why should they apologize?  If it’s your opinion say it loud, say it proud!  Say what you mean and mean what you say but you don’t have to apologize for it.  Personally I think it’s impossible to go through a week and not be offended or offend someone else.  On the one hand, don’t we want a President that is thick skinned, not easily offended, so that we can all criticize him to no end without affecting his performance?  And on the other, I think it is important to have President with the wisdom to not go around shooting his mouth off.

    The last thing has to do with the debates.  The problem I have with them is they really aren’t debates.  They seem to do everything they can to keep the debating to a minimum.  What we have today are merely question and answer sessions.  Any time the candidates get into it a little, the moderator puts a stop to it.  I want to hear a debate!  I want them to get into it, argue about it, make their point, and defend their position.   I just think we could tell a lot more about them if they would actually debate the issues.  What I suggest is that we put the candidates in a room with a camera, no press, and let them debate for an hour or two.  Eventually it would all come out.  We would see who is sensible, sheepish, petty, strong, etc.  I think this would make the debates more interesting and informative.

    I’m sure I will walk away from the computer and think of a few more things that bug me about campaigns.  For now that’s about all I can think of off the top of my head.