Letter to the Editor

Is this any way to elect a President?

Sometimes our media gets lazy. In the heated competition to generate some sort of story by deadline we get stories about the election process that treat it like a sports competition instead of a job interview for the single most powerful position in the nation (or arguably on the planet). Style and stampede-mentality momentum make up the material of the stories instead of informing the electorate of the specific qualifications of the candidates. That is left for voters who care enough to dig out for themselves. This situation has not served us well.

In the race for the last Republican nomination it was the Bush style that prevailed over the substance of John McCain. If I were a Republican, it would greatly sadden me to compare what the state of our nation today against what it would have been if McCain had been President for the past 3 years. Would the federal government be wallowing in such fiscal irresponsibility? Would our servicemen and women be engaged is such ill-considered military adventurism? Would the reelect numbers for an incumbent President be drifting lower and lower? Somehow I doubt not.

With the help of the lazier elements in the media the Democrats are perhaps facing a similar set of choices between style and substance. Four years from now will it have been wisdom to be stampeded into a choice based on style? In that time rest assured the glow from easy promises couched in language that seeks to appease everybody will have worn off. The stylistic fog will have cleared under the wintry blast of events just as it has for the Bush administration.

The challenge for us Democrats is more than winning the next election. We need to test our candidates for their long-term integrity if we wish to avoid the kind of embarrassment the Bush administration has become for the Republicans. It is going to take a long time to undo the damage that has been done and we have to think about who has the transparent fortitude to carry the commitment through two terms of office.

For Washington Democrats it is now decision time. Unfortunately it isn't going to be an easy decision since many of the candidates have a real potential to succeed in the first mission, defeating Bush. But who can take it to the next level and be a commanding candidate after taking the heat for 4 years? Who will we still find to be worthy of our trust after 4 years? Please take the time to decide for yourself and resist the temptation to join a media-induced stampede. This is a quality I see in Howard Dean to a greater degree than the other candidates and he is my choice for the next 8 years.