The messy road to the White House

The USA is 231 years old. And in that time you'd think we would have figured out how to conduct a presidential election that doesn't more closely resemble a production by Barnum & Bailey.

I'm not going to discuss hanging chads. What really disappoints me is the space and attention devoted to the "he said-she said" trivia. It is promoted by campaign managers who want their candidate's name in the paper. It is perpetuated by media outlets that fear being scooped by the competition. It is consumed by the public, desperate for infotainment now that we've solved the mystery of who fathered Anna Nicole Smith's baby.
A few examples come to mind:

• A candidate angry about a cable commentator's remark about the candidates daughter being "pimped" by the campaign. I think that is an accurate description by a commentator on an opinion show. I do not think the comment/word would be appropriate in a news show.
• Accusations about a candidate plagarizing remarks by his friend. Who cares? Politicians talk a lot (too much, in some cases) and there are not a lot of original thoughts, so some comments are bound to be repeated.
  
• A candidate blasting the New York Times for an article about his ethics. A read of the article shows his aides were concerned about an inappropriate relationship with a lobbyist, but no one accused him of having an affair. Had this candidate and the media not blown the article out of proportion, I would not have read it and thus, would not have learned more about his past. So thank you, Senator, for calling my attention to the article.

This faux-outrage happens so the candidate can take control of the news cycle, regardless of how trivial the matter. Aren't there more important things to talk about or be angry at?

In my news days, I noticed how many more faxes we received during the campaign season. Most (sent by the incumbent at taxpayer expense) never made the air, nor should they have. But I am sure a campaign season fax was behind the news story about Congressman Doe Supports Rabies Vaccinations. I wanted to track the fax phenomena but never got any support to pursue the matter.

Unfortunately, this relentless pursuit of trivia wastes the time and the increasingly shorter attention span of voters, who then will base their decision on less important criteria -- such as which candidate they would most like to have a beer with.

Presidential campaigns are very childish at times. Perhaps the solution is to give the office to the person who comes out ahead in a game of "one potato, two potato".