FEBRUARY 20, 2020 – In March, 1968 America was schooled in the political power wielded by tiny New Hampshire. The anti-war candidate, Senator Eugene McCarthy (MN), shocked the nation by winning 42% of the vote in the New Hampshire Democratic primary—just seven percentage points behind LBJ, the incumbent president. McCarthy’s strong showing triggered the momentum that by month’s end led the beleaguered president to announce he would not seek or accept the Democratic nomination for re-election as president.
Over the years, New Hampshire’s status as kingmaker, or at least, as nominee-maker, has diminished greatly. First came Iowa, then “Super Tuesday,” then . . . a never-ending presidential campaign, fueled by mind-bending amounts of cash and fanned by cable news and social media 24/7.
Like never before, candidates slog it out aboard the bus, in the studios, small town cafés, big city stages—shaking hands, signing autographs, smiling for pictures, repeating the same talking points—going all out every single waking moment of the day. And, many of the candidates currently hold the very highest of elective office day jobs.
Is this not undeniably . . . CRAZY!?
It gets worse. After Election Day, the non-incumbent winner has just over two months to assemble a long slate of staff, advisors, and cabinet members in order to govern. We’re talking the CEO of a whole nation of 330 million people with an annual GDP of nearly $20 trillion (15% of the global economy, with only 4.0% of the world population), a federal budget of $4.5 trillion (and 2.1 million civilian workers), the world’s largest military, plenty of stubbornly serious problems, and . . . so on and so forth.
If the process by which we select our presidential candidates isn’t in need of radical reform, then insanity is no longer a human condition.
But currently we’re so sidetracked by professional wrestling, no one is addressing the elephant (and donkey) in the ring. To be fair, the issue of campaign finance does find its way onto campaign websites, but I have yet to hear the issue addressed in a single episode of the long TV series, Debatable: Whether Democratic Debates are Debates. (Oh, how I wish a moderator would ask the candidates to discuss the tension between what it takes to run for president vs. what it takes to be president!)
But really, we voters need to question ourselves about this out-of-control train. How did we let the process get so out of hand? Were we too mesmerized by our entertainments? Were we too pre-occupied with our own daily demands and distractions? Whatever the reasons, we’ve let the political system fall into the hands of tech-marketing wizards, single-issue fanatics, and above all, the big money-power complex.
What’s transpired during our dereliction will be difficult to reverse or overcome.
I see tears welling up in the eyes of Lady Liberty. If she weeps, at least her torch is too high to be extinguished by those tears. But how much longer can her arm endure?
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© 2020 by Eric Nilsson
