We can’t have nice things. Seriously, we just aren’t ready to handle them yet. We aren’t… mature enough, collectively. For the first 174 years of electing Presidents, we had one impeachment, and, a grand total of three Presidents who failed to secure a second term. We elected a cripple, a bunch of bald guys, a couple fat guys, and even an ugly, crotchety looking, old mug like Martin Van Buren.
Martin Van Buren, in all his splendor.
Then, in 1960, something changed. We started televising Presidential Debates. In the intervening 51 years, we have had two of our nations three impeachments, three of our nations six one term Presidents, two celebrity Presidents, and a peanut farmer. Of the five Presidents who immediately preceded the first televised debate, three were bald, one was crippled and one had the worst five head of all time. Now, I’m not saying that things would be perfect if we couldn’t see the candidates in advance, but, I am saying that, since the televised debate became a thing, the qualifications for the position of, “leader of the free world,” appear to amount to something much more superficial in nature. In short, it has become a beauty pageant! A nice head of hair, broad shoulders, and, a height advantage seem to be all the substance that one requires to secure the office, and, the results are uglier than the candidates. So far, I have only offered anecdotal evidence, but, a 2009 study showed that 5 year old Swiss kids could pic the winner of French Parliamentary Elections, based only on a picture. People could predict the winners of an election by watching video of a debate… with the TV muted. Those aren’t positive indicators of our ability to pick a candidate based on their political platform. As long as we are able to see their faces, and, for as long as the TV Debate exists, the Martin Van Burens of the world don’t have a chance.
thereluctantcommentator 