The Unfortunate Politics of Politics

So much for my promise to refrain from writing about politics. Sorry, Dad.

I may not have been a holy terror, but I, like most, didn't exactly exhibit model behavior while in my teens. How Friday night at the pool hall in 1995 might affect what Frank Magazine might say about me in 20 years if I ran for office, wasn't exactly a consideration for me at the time. I'd be hard pressed to find a person who doesn't have something in their past they'd rather forget, let alone someone who had been groomed since birth to successfully withstand the scrutiny that comes with a position in public office.

Even though I am not American, I can appreciate the importance of the person calling the shots for our closest neighbor, largest trading partner, strongest ally, and biggest influence. I watch American news on a regular basis, and from the outside looking in, as a person with no Democratic or Republican affiliation, I like to absorb as much of the election coverage as I can. I may not be eligible to vote there, nor does my input affect any particular campaign, but I fully support, in an idealistic sense, Senator Obama's candidacy.

Looking at the three active campaigns, Obama's is being presented in a completely different way than the others', perhaps differently than any other campaign has been in the past quarter century. While he takes a distinctive Democratic position on most issues, the tone of his message sets him apart from the other, more traditional politicians. He has an air of hope, and of possibility. When he speaks, he doesn't come off as a phony vote-hunter, spewing typical rhetoric through over-bleached teeth. Rather, his vision of bipartisan unification appears to be sincere and enthusiastic, in an attempt to inspire the people he hopes to serve. I truly believe his foremost priority is to fix what is broken within a country he loves, not to promote an agenda and run a self-serving administration, which is the usual motivation behind a campaign for the Presidency. In my eleven years as a registered voter in Canada, I've participated in elections out of a sense of obligation. Barack Obama is the first politician whose rise to power is exciting to me, and if I were a U.S. citizen, not only would I be the first in line when the polls open, but I'd be out campaigning for him as well.

Yet, even with such revered intelligence, foresight, and leadership capabilities, Obama still has to endure the petty nit-picking and media manhandling notorious in the American political arena. Recently, controversial internet video clips of his former long-time pastor surfaced, and the controversy is hurting the Obama campaign. This pastor, Reverend Wright, made critical and uncomplimentary remarks about U.S. domestic and foreign policy, and the state of racism in America, among other things. Because Obama has attended Rev. Wright's church for decades and didn't storm out in defiance after finding out the pastor held different views, Obama is being accused of holding the same beliefs as Wright, and supporters and critics alike are demanding apologies, resignations, and everything in between. Obama gave a speech last week in an effort to address the situation, but the issue doesn't seem to want to go away.

Senator Obama never publicly supported the views of Rev. Wright, nor has he made any remarks of the same nature. But because CNN and MSNBC and the Clinton camp don't have any actual scandal to throw at him, Obama now has to defend himself against allegations of racism and un-patriotism, based solely on the opinions and statements of a third party. What if the pastor had screamed from the pulpit that the sky is green? Should Obama have been expected to run out of mass, knowing that Rev. Wright's view of sky color in 1994 would raise accusations of Obama's colorblindness and negatively affect his Presidential image in 2008?

The politics of politics is unreasonable at times. Rational thought tells us that Obama, or any other politician, will possess the same knowledge and capabilities regardless of long-past opinions of their friends and associates. Pastor Wright's controversial sermons should no sooner come back to haunt Obama than a freshman sip of peach schnapps should haunt Hillary Clinton.

It seems a terrible shame that someone with the potential to make great leadership strides, might very well be brought down by Hollywood-type scandal and have his talents go to waste.

When it comes to politics, the motto seems to be, "if you can't beat 'em, spin irrelevant drama into national controversy to make 'em look bad and get ahead of 'em."