If I can’t change your mind then no one will
Despite being nearly a presidential term removed from the U.S., I’m still an election junkie. This one has been a real cracker so far and I keep abreast of the news and commentary from the U.S. through podcasts from my favorite pundits. I’m a little embarassed to admit this, but on a weekly basis I listen to the following podcasts for my U.S. politics fix: Meet The Press, This Week with George Snuffalupagus, MSNBC Countdown, The Slate Political Gabfest, KCRW’s Left, Right and Center, The Radio Factor, Washington Week, NPR’s It’s All Politics, Common Sense with Dan Carlin, The New Yorker’s Campaign Trail and Drop Your IQ with Sean Hannity. Sometimes I think I may be overdoing it a little.
Maybe overexposure is the source of my festering frustration with the 2008 U.S. presidential election. It’s not the media’s obsession with trivia (like cartoons, potential first spouses recipes and flag pins), I’m used to that. While listening to an interview with Barack Obama on PBS this morning, I was reminded that the press just doesn’t have the attention span for anything that requires more than about seven words to explain. Gwen Ifill, a journalist who I respect, was actually doing a pretty good job with the Democratic nominee - asking intelligent questions and not getting bogged down in the peripheral nonsense. But then she got to the flip-flop question.
I’m so tired of “flip-flops” as an electoral issue. The 2004 election was full of this non-issue and I had hoped that we had outgrown it, but then I had hoped we had outgrown fear-mongering, name calling, wrapping politicians in the American flag, etc. The only thing that’s different this time around is that both candidates are accused of being flip-floppers.
My question is, when did changing your mind become such a bad thing? Isn’t that one of the problems with the current U.S. administration - a bull headed determination to do what they think is right, regardless of facts or common sense?
Who hasn’t changed their mind, even in terms of major life philosophies? If I hadn’t changed my mind since high school, well I quake to think where I would be, but it certainly wouldn’t be where I am today. If I hadn’t changed my mind about some of my lifestyle choices along the way, I may not be here to rant today. I doubt that there’s a single person reading this who hasn’t re-evaluated a choice that they’ve made and come out better for it?
Why, then, do we expect more from our politicians? Why do we have the expectation that after once uttering an opinion they should stick with it for life. Why is it not OK that you believed something, evaluated the situation and changed your mind based on new information. Frankly, I find it reassuring that both candidates appear to be open minded enough to consider an alternate position. Perhaps if that had been the case for the last 8 years then my homeland wouldn’t be where it is today - bogged down in two wars, trillions of dollars in debt and in an economic tailspin.
The long list of things that I find less than reassuring about both candidates will have to wait for another post.
Popularity: 14% [?]
Ah ha! Found you! Hee hee! It’s like a little secret! Sssshhhhh.
Yeah. I’m so friggin’ tired of the media circus. I’m also tired of the fact that we’ve been dealing with this race for over a year. OMG. What happened to the good old days of presidential races starting one year before the election. Now it’s 18 months. That and watching Fox and CNN reporters and anchors treat election night coverage (primary elections - the general in November will be insufferable) the same way ESPN anchors treat the Super Bowl. Drives me nuts.
I still haven’t made up my mind. My favorite candidate dropped out months ago.
Coal Miner’s Granddaughters last blog post..The Monsters In My Mind
18 Jul 2008 at 9:51 am
Oh, we’re having an election this year? I hadn’t noticed.
Really, I think I’m blocking it out until I absolutely have to choose. I can bite my fingernails for a full hour deciding whether to cook or order out, it took me months of anguish deciding which camera to buy, IMAGINE what I go through deciding which candidate should rule my section of the world for the next 4-8 years! I can feel a zit coming on just thinking about it.
Jessica Ks last blog post..Brothers
18 Jul 2008 at 12:07 pm
First off, Bob Mould is a musical genious and Copper Blue is a damn good album.
The election is going to be fun, and yet not. I read great article by Matt Taibbi on what the real issue is that no one is talking about. I am trying to be hopeful but I am beginning to wish I could ex pat myself.
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/21830103/its_a_class_war_stupid
Starrlights last blog post..If You’re Gonna Do It, Do It Right!
19 Jul 2008 at 12:46 am
Amen brother. And good on them if they can actually admit they were wrong while they’re about it.
arizaphales last blog post..Phrase Friday
19 Jul 2008 at 1:11 am
Is it completely awful that I live near DC and don’t watch the news or listen to any of it? Our local news IS the national news. I just can’t stand it anymore. When we get down to the wire, I will do my research and make my best educated guess as to who will be able to fix this Fuck-Up. Blech.
19 Jul 2008 at 3:04 am
Unfortunately, I think the problem is 1) superficiality and 2) judgental attitudes…plain & simple:/
suzer
suzers last blog post..Since When is Immigrant a Dirty Word?
20 Jul 2008 at 3:31 pm
i’m a bit of a political junkie like yourself, although i don’t think i listen to quite that many newscasts! i keep up with the news just enough to get the jokes on the daily show and the colbert report.
the whole flip-flopper thing matters only when it points to a true hypocrisy or a form a pandering that is so blatant as to make one’s head spin. in this regard, i’d say mccain is much more inclined to change his position in order to satisfy whichever faction of his “base” that is unhappy with him at the moment. that being said, since he has such a longer voting record than obama does, there will be many more instances when his “flip-flops” are apparent.
however you’re right about being glad that these two guys seem open-minded enough to actually not only consider a different point of view but maybe even espouse it. we certainly don’t need another four or eight years of the kind of stubborn, stick-to-your-guns pig-headedness that our current president abides by.
wow, i didn’t realize i had so much to say on the subject!
mjrcs last blog post..A Little Unsolicited Advice
22 Jul 2008 at 6:32 am
Thanks guys for your well thought out comments. I was listening to one of those 19 podcasts this morning and I think my fervor for Obama is starting to cool. I’m beginning to wonder if he’s any different than any other pol. I’m a little saddened by this. Happens every four years though, so you’d think I would have gotten used to it by now.
22 Jul 2008 at 8:18 am
I’m kind of glad that during this election cycle I’m not up there in DC in the thick of things. Last time around, the let down was just too much.
Gypsys last blog post..Edward is my homie. Yo.
23 Jul 2008 at 4:45 am