OpEd:
Politics Is Not A Celebrity Contest
November 30, 2009 by Kyle BradyTags: America, Beck, Celebrity, Dobbs, Limbaugh, Obama, Olbermann, Palin, Politics
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One of the principle ideas of American politics was that the country should be run by intelligent, capable people who, at least collectively, can make informed decisions on the nation’s most pressing issues, without worrying about personal popularity beyond the general happiness of their constituents.
Sadly, this seems to be a quickly fading idea. As the election cycles press continually on, each election requires ever greater funding to have even a chance at success, banking more on populist gut feelings than policy, reputation, or even ability, and this trend seems to be reaching a breaking point that will soon decide whether or not the country will soon resemble the vane inanity that is American Idol.
The election of President Obama was, for some, worrisome because of his relative inexperience in governance and young age - he has long since proven to be adept at not only governing, but also at managing public perception by winning the hearts and minds of citizens nationwide, leading to criticisms by the opposition-by-choice party that he is more a celebrity than he is President. While President Obama does have the ability to charm millions, possibly eclipsing the known talents of former President Bill Clinton, he sits very solidly within the borders of intelligence, deep thought, and, above all, policy. His worldwide status as a celebrity is due more to his predecessor than any actions of his own, and yet such a reputation has opened the door to a worrying trend: deeply unqualified citizens dreaming of political involvement.
Over the last few months of tumultuous political divide, it has become increasingly clear that the Republican answer to President Obama in 2012 will be to position someone with a public and party-favored persona in opposition – assuming the GOP is even a viable party at that point. This began with the troubling empowerment of Sarah Palin by giving her the position of Vice Presidential candidate for John McCain, a choice that, thankfully, was doomed from the start. Following the election loss, and facing an Federal investigation, Palin then resigned as Governor of Alaska, thereby removing her from any political relevance whatsoever – only she hasn’t become as irrelevant as the intelligentsia would hope.
The early days of a Presidential campaign, masqueraded as a book tour for a rambling memoir about nothing, has stated for Alaska blogger Sarah Palin what she will refuse to admit, and it has her supporters cavorting about with glee, ignoring the fact that she has less relevant experience than Barack Obama did before becoming President, likely has a severely low IQ, and, most importantly, quit her only political position to focus on being more rich and popular. Quitting has, in fact, become a theme for the Palin identity that began in her college years and continues on to this very day, seemingly indicating that if she somehow becomes President, she’ll quit if she ever gets questioned or becomes bored.
Sarah Palin is not alone, however, because both Lou Dobbs and Glenn Beck, racist television personalities that spew lies, conspiracy, and hatred to the masses, have recently indicated their own political aspirations – Lou Dobbs even shares a trait with Palin, as he quit his longtime position at CNN after turning it into what could potentially be considered a terrible excuse for a comedy hour. These potential GOP competitors have a shockingly identical background for any Presidential, Vice Presidential, or Senatorial campaigns: zero experience and no relevance.
Most political pundits, news anchors, and talk show hosts will readily admit that they have no business in attempting to jumpstart a political career, Keith Olbermann included. And yet this trend of public personae believing they can have a life involving policy decisions, based purely on their audience size or presumed popularity, is growing and troubling: not only can the number of times a celebrity, loosely defined, that has achieved a political office be counted on but a few fingers, the successful careers of those are even fewer. True, Schwarzenegger, JFK, and others have surprised many by their political abilities, but they are outliers, and should not be used as a tool for the estimation of others’ future successes - most especially Carrie Prejean.
If American politics were truly meant to be a popularity contest, the election process would not be so convoluted, and there would be no Electoral College. Since the Electoral College exists as a buffer between populist opinion and political reality, one would hope that the long-shot election of someone such as Sarah Palin would be overriden by the individuals tasked with defending the political integrity of the nation, disregarding the stupidity of millions for the betterment of the country.
All of this, however, may not matter – Palin may not run because she finds greater celebrity potential in a television show, Lou Dobbs may be rejected by the GOP, and Glenn Beck may be arrested for treason, along with friend-in-arms Rush Limbaugh. President Obama has already begun to insulate Washington from the corporate world by removing lobbyists even further from Congress, so perhaps he will influence Beltway politics enough to prevent the further devolution of the election process, removing the ability of those uniquely unqualified to even be considered pundits, let alone candidates for office.
Kyle can be found on Twitter and MySpace, or reached via email.
