The unfortunate reality of selecting our president is that it is more of a popularity contest than a contest of issues. This is not a new phenomenon. The United States has a history of electing successful war generals to the presidency. This dates back to George Washington. The last general elected was Dwight D. Eisenhower, the leading general in WWII in Europe. His official WWII title was Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe.
Today we have John S. McCain, who is a war hero from the Vietnam War running for president. He has promoted his biography very extensively. He was not a general but he was a POW for five years. Although the Vietnam War was very unpopular it was and still is viewed by many people as a very worthwhile endeavor.
Barack Obama does not have a military background. He has never served in the military. He does have an interesting and a gripping biography. He was smart enough to put himself through Harvard Law School despite being the Black child of a single White parent.
The election campaign has deteriorated to a smear and name calling contest. Calling Governor Palin a “cocky wacko” is an excellent example of this behavior. The discussion of issues is no where in sight. Perhaps the debates will help to refocus our attention on real issues. However there is no guarantee that this will happen. An ABC Network debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama was primarily focused on the bickering between the candidates and on smear and name calling. If that will be the tone of the planned debates they will serve no purpose.
Perhaps the founding fathers of this nation were wiser than I thought when they created the Electoral College. Those people might be wiser than the general public and not vote for the most popular candidate.
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