Campaign coverage

Did you ever have one of those days when you wonder what the issues are in the campaign for president?

(By the way, notice anything odd about the Philadelphia Daily News cover story on African American voters?)

Yes indeed....it is all about marketing of the brand. It is just like buying toothpaste. The only problem with modern brand marketing is that most corporations have diluted their brand equity by marketing other products under the main brand name. I think this is happening to the political arena as well. You really have to read the fine print on the package in order to know whether or not you are buying the original M&M's or the peanuts or the bitter chocolate version, or the Easter Bunny pack ! The real message gets lost in the prominent brand image.

The other point here is that it costs a lot of money and time to do this. $100MM per candidate year to date is a lot of money. The time spent away from the Senate for all the candidates makes me wonder if they could have accomplished more if they just did the job they were elected to do in the first place and let the chips for the presidency fall where they may. Democracy as we know it is getting expensive and somewhat inefficient. I wonder if there is a better way, with all this technology to get back to representing the people instead of the source of the funds that tend to corrupt the very democracy we are trying to promote elsewhere in the world ?

Theory: The biggest problem with politics is professional sports. As it (professional sports) has flourished, politics has become just another sport. Like the local hero on steroids, we don't care about the details of athletes, as long as they're on "our" team.

In the end, it only matters that our team wins, not why.

What do you think?

"The biggest problem with politics is professional sports."

Next thing you know, someone will turn it into a fantasy sport for political geeks.

The green party has a limit to the amount an individual can contribute to their party. I think this can keep a party wholesome. Maybe with limited funds a candidate will have limited time to present themselves and will be forced to stick to important issues other than mud slinging.