I’m not into politics. I don’t pretend to be. I prefer to stay out of most conversations because politics are so political.
The one thing I remember most from American Heritage class in college was that George Washington himself thought political parties would be the downfall of this nation. That has always had a lasting impact on me. Sometimes I wish everyone would stop arguing and just get together for one big democratic-republican group hug.
But I do care about improving our nation and understanding the challenges that we face. I also understand my civil duty as a citizen and a taxpayer. So I did the American thing and watched the Republican presidential candidate debate.
I learned a lot. Almost too much. But mostly, I learned a few things about presidential candidates.
No one answers the questions they are asked. Ever. Instead, they answer the question they wish they were asked, no matter how far of a stretch the connection might be.
I noticed a fairly consistent pattern in most of their answers: First, they preface by saying they will answer the question at hand after they address a previous question they had been itching to talk about. Next, they give a round about transition away from the question toward something else they’d like to discuss. After doing so, they find some way to bring up when and where they were Governor/Senator/Representative before or currently and what they did in that position to solve a completely different problem. Last, they try and cram as many run-on sentences as possible in one final breath after the commentator tells them, “time.”
Other ‘political’ people might understand what they were doing from a strategic angle, but I was mostly confused by their answers and left wondering what on earth their response had to do with immigration. Or Health Care reform. Or Anything. Meanwhile, they would move on to the next question while I was still waiting for the answer to the last one.
I respect these men for the things they do for our country and our freedom. It was probably just me more than anything. I was never cut out for something like politics. I’ll stick to nerdy things on the internet.
Go America!
No comments:
Post a Comment