Saturday, November 8, 2008

The case for long elections

Spending money is good. Stop moralizing about how much money is spent on presidential elections. Just get over. If you have money, you should spend it. Preferably you should spend it this month. It would help if the 100 richest Americans would each buy 100 cars a piece. Don't put it off. Buy them now.

To get to know someone really well requires a lot of exposure. Not every political candidate becomes the kind of comedic icon of a Sarah Palin. Most have to work very hard getting their names, faces and ideas into the media.

When Obama and Clinton were battling their way through the primaries, I was practically alone in thinking this was good for the process. By staying in the contest Clinton kept Obama in the press. We got to know him better. She is probably responsible for the fact that he is now the president elect. She was much better known and did not need this extra boost.

Running for president also changes a person. It changed McCain into an angry, bitter person we didn't turn out to like very much.

It changed Hillary Clinton into someone we liked for the first time. We admired and respected her before, though we didn't exactly understand her, but by the end she had changed into someone rather likable. This was the biggest surprise of the election for me.

I didn't know Obama before, but he seemed to loosen up toward the end. Maybe he will enjoy being president enough to let us enjoy it, too. I haven't enjoyed anyone since Jack Kennedy, whom I was too young to vote for. Besides, I probably would have voted for Nixon, the only politician I ever shook hands with.

Obama seems rather formal, even stiff sometimes, so it would not be good if that was all we got to see of him. We can hope he has changed into someone who is comfortable with being watched all the time. He seems remarkably unparanoid. I wish him and us well.

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