And the Beat Goes On

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if all the pundits, talking heads and political consultants went quiet during an election? Maybe the candidates would begin to talk about their true beliefs and what the voters are interested in. Everyday I hear the talking heads and pundits telling us what we should think and what the candidates have said. The political consultants listen and tell their candidates what the talking heads and the pundits think they should be saying. Does this make any sense?

I don't believe I know any of the candidates well enough to vote for them. Obama sounds good when he talks to his crowds but he doesn't say anything about the big issues of the day. I hear a lot of promises but I wonder if he really thinks these are the best ideas. Hillary appeals to her core voters but fails to give others a reason to vote for her. McCain relies upon his past service and expects us to accept him as he is without any future. Huckabee tailors his appeal to the evangelicals to the exclusion of many in the country.

Why have these candidates failed to capture our imagination? Could it be that they have given in to being packaged by the political class. Ronald Reagan captured our imagination by telling us what he believed and why. He had strong beliefs and was articulate in expressing them to the public. He also did not care if he ruffled the feathers of the pundits and the talking heads. Strength of conviction is sorely lacking in our current class of presidential candidates. Perhaps one of them will wake up one morning and realize that the only way they can win is to lead the nation in a dialogue on the issues of the day. Stop listening to the pundits and the talking heads and listen to the voters. We are better than this. But the beat goes on.