Politics Through the Lens

Politics Through the Lens

The political jokes of 1960 keep recurring in our politics. Instead of voting in candidates with credible abilities, voters go for candidates who speak well instead. This has certainly turned American politics into a game of marbles of exhausted kids. Exhausted in the sense that it even becomes difficult for people to stop for a moment and think about things that ail their societies and the best ways to solve them. In 1960, Nixon was definitely a better candidate but still lost to inexperienced Senator Kennedy. The reasons for his loss are shameful to speak about given that the same problems often come to haunt the people of America. It is worth noting that Nixon has good chances of winning until their first debate with Senator Kennedy. He turned up for the debate a little bit unkempt. He had been campaigning up to a few hours before the debate, and did not find enough time to prepare for the cameras. According to observers, he looked underweight and clearly exhausted from the campaign. It was evident he was ready to give his all for the people of America who believed in his leadership. He had ignored his personal looks in order to ensure that citizens elected him in office so that he could give them a better life. On the other hand was Senator Kennedy, well groomed for the occasion. It was evident that he had spent a long time preparing for the television appearance given that it was the first live presidential debate in the history of the US. In no uncertain terms, Senator Nixon did not disappoint in terms of his contribution to the debate. In fact, those who listened to the debate on radio were convinced that he had actually emerged the winner in the presidential debate. However, those who had viewed it in their televisions were of the opposite opinion (Robert, Steven & Thomas 1995, pg 202-225). They held the opinion that Senator Kennedy had won, but this was certainly influenced by their appearance!

The same trend keeps repeating itself in US elections. It goes without saying that Senator McCain was American veteran who could undoubtedly be trusted with security of the people of the United States. He had spent significant part of his life fighting for his country. However, people still voted for Senator Obama, a junior senator who had not done anything for his country. He won this election simply because he could recite old political clichés much better than Senator McCain. In fact, most people voted him in so that he could make history as the first African American to be president of the United States. That was then, but even when people had the opportunity to erase this political goof by voting him out of office, they still voted for him simply because he speaks well. There is no doubt that Mitt Romney was a better candidate that President Obama. After all, President Obama had failed to deliver on his promise of change. The economy was still ailing four years after he took the oath of office and promised to work on it. He is even on record accepting that he had not done enough during his first term on priority areas. It was a pity that people still played to his empty promises when they had a better choice for president in Mitt Romney. The real lesson that is learnt from these unfortunate turn of events is that people still focus on personalities instead of issues. Voters still look at how candidates are well groomed during their campaigns instead of listening to the content of the issues they seek to do as president. It is quite clear that we will not get the best president if the trend continues and people will continue complaining about the same problems of 1960 (Nick 2004, pg 102-125). This is unfortunate situation that people should strive to avoid because it will cause this great nation to remain stagnant even as Asia surges forward.

A closer look at policies of President Obama and Governor Mitt Romney during the last election clearly tells you that Mitt Romney should have won the election by a wide margin. For instance, there is no way Barack Obama could be promising to create jobs when at the same time he is forcing huge taxes on corporations. It is worth noting that the government alone cannot create enough jobs for all citizens and that it takes the intervention of corporate businesses to create enough jobs. Probably, this is the reason joblessness was at its all-time high even though the president had spent all his energy trying to work on it. What people failed to understand is the fact that although Obama looks committed, he is simply implementing ideas that cannot work in the present world. Unfortunately, when he reminds people about how much he struggles to make the economy work again, somehow people feel some sympathy and vote him again. Essentially, they are simply voting out of sympathy for a man who has no sympathy for them. Indeed, if he had sympathy he would think about families who are struggling with healthcare and opt out of the race, noting that his policies have failed to give the desired results. It is basically a circus that is not about to end in the United States. This was notable when Obama’s campaign was trying to imply that Mitt Romney was less human in his looks and would probably give the same attitude to America’s problems. There is no doubt that some people bought this idea, floppy as it was (Douglas 1994, pg 37-60).

America’s election has become a game of marbles if people can trust a man who has never owned a business to turn around their economy and ignore a businessman with vast experience in entrepreneurship. It beats logic that Obama won this election against Mitt Romney at a time when the economy was ailing under Obama’s watch. It only implies that there are no longer values in elections as people look at other things other than personal ability. Perhaps, they look at Obama and see a young man with nice looks, turn to Romney and see an old man with unkempt beards. This then suffices to them as to who they should vote into office. This is a desperate situation that will cause the United States of America to slide into political dysfunction. Indeed, people should begin on focusing on real issues and not a contest of personal looks or empty promises presented in the form of powerful speeches. The people of this great nation should understand that solutions to their problems do not lie in the nature of speeches made, but in the ability to deliver.

In conclusion, America’s elections have become useless in the sense that instead of voting in candidates with credible abilities, voters go for candidates who speak well instead. This has certainly turned American politics into a game of marbles of exhausted kids. Indeed, America’s election has become a game of marbles if people can trust a man who has never owned a business to turn around their economy and ignore a businessman with vast experience in entrepreneurship. It goes without saying that Senator McCain was American veteran who could undoubtedly be trusted with security of the people of the United States. He had spent significant part of his life fighting for his country. However, people decided to repeat what happened in 1960 when Senator Kennedy won instead of being a weak candidate in term of ideas, with only good looks!