Herman

Cain

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December 17, 2007

The Presidential Candidates Who Stole Christmas

Last week on the presidential campaign trail, Hillary Clinton apologized to Barack Obama for a comment made by a senior staffer about Obama’s teenage drug use. Mike Huckabee apologized to Mitt Romney for a remark made about the Mormon faith. And Fred Thompson apologized (sarcastically) to Mike Huckabee for bringing attention to his past record.

Well! When do we get an apology for the intrusion of the 2008 presidential campaign on the spirit of our 2007 Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year’s celebrations? And what has actually been accomplished as a result of this intrusion on our holiday glee?

This is supposed to be the time of year when we see and hear many stories of giving to others and exchanging gifts, instead of endless reports of political cat fights and exchanging political apologies. This is supposed to be the season to be jolly instead of non-stop reports of campaign folly.

This all came about because of all candidates trying to get an early start on their 2008 campaigns over the other contenders, and early caucus and primary states trying to be the earliest in signaling the ultimate political party contenders and eventual president. All of this jockeying for position was being egged on by the media with candidates and states taking the bait to hopefully gain the early media attention.

The result has been what looks to become two years of the same political crap that we used to endure for only one year of the election cycle. As evidenced, two headlines about last week’s Republican and Democratic debates summed up this year of “not wished for” political pain.

“Democrats call for higher taxes on the rich” (Nedra Pickler, AP, December 13, 2007), and “GOP candidates call for cuts in spending” (Liz Sidoti, AP, December 13, 2007).

That’s not news! And we have had to endure these breaking news announcements all year. The closer we get to the winner of the first caucus – Iowa held its position by a nose – the more frequently we get totally useless poll results about who’s leading where in which party.

Observation: Hillary, Obama and Edwards had the highest name recognition at the beginning of the presidential derby, and each poll shows them as the top three Democratic contenders in the early states and nationally. With the exception of the recent Huckabee surge, the leading four Republican candidates in nearly every poll have been Giuliani, Romney, Huckabee, and McCain hanging on by a thread. And you guessed it. They had the highest name ID at the beginning of the year.

All of the money spent by the candidates, the attention from the media and the polling results coming almost daily, have determined very little if anything about who will be the respective party nominees, and even less about who will be the next president. And I know from experience that the candidate’s staffs are egging them on between now and January 3 to take advantage of every media opportunity, and to not miss speaking to any audience where at least two or more are gathered to hear their “stump” speech.

The candidates need a rest because some of them are beginning to look tired even under layers of makeup. And with less than 20 days left in 2007, it is unlikely any candidate will say or do anything that will significantly change the presidential political landscape. Just look at what has happened so far this year.

We deserve a break today, and for the rest of 2007. If not, we should at least get an apology from each of the candidates when they send their end-of-year campaign requests tucked inside their Christmas cards.

Where is Frosty the Snowman when we need him?

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