The Essays of Sam Person
Just Another National Election Year
.....By Samuel Person
July 01, 2000
There is a slight twist to the national elections that will be held this year. Establishing a precedent, the wife of a sitting president is a candidate for the United States Senate (from New York); it is the first time in our history that this has happened.
It is not, however, the first time that we have had "carpetbaggers" find their way into New York. Remember the late Robert Kennedy, for example?
Fact is, I can t even vote for her if I wanted to (which I don t, by the way), not being a resident of New York. Hillary's campaign so far has produced some silliness, which of course proves that she has as much right to run for national office as any other citizen. All candidates, it seems, take on a posture of infallibility. They become legends in their own mind, and can do no wrong.
Pointing fingers at Hillary when others are guilty of the same silliness may seem unfair. But, considering that she is running from the White House, I think she merits special attention. Two episodes stand out as being worth mentioning.
Her Republican opponent, Rep. Rick Lazio (a real New Yorker, as he likes to put it), recently missed a key House vote in order to return to his district to attend a fund raising party. Hillary chastised him for this, and perhaps she was right. Yet, in order to be present at a fundraiser for Hillary, another New York Congressman missed the very same vote.
Obviously, the lesson here is that people who live in glass houses (or even the White House) shouldn't throw stones.
And how about a news item which appeared in New York newspapers yesterday about Hillary s campaign? It s one that really gets me! Seems that Hillary visited an elementary school in New York, requiring a high level of security. Understandable, of course; after all, she is the wife of the President of the United States. However, not understandable is the fact that security measures necessitated the closing off of bathroom facilities. Can you imagine all the youngsters greeting Mrs. Clinton with crossed legs?
Apart from the uniqueness brought to this election year by the presence of Hillary Clinton, the characteristics that mark presidential election years are all too familiar. Thus, all kinds of media hype abounds, and the candidates who seek to occupy the White House put forward proposals they would have us believe solves every political and social problem we face.
Often, the proposals are not realistic, and too much time is spent listening to the rhetoric. Issues are not really addressed, and besides, they seldom have real influence on our decisions about the candidates we vote for anyway. By and large, voting is a knee jerk reaction based on party affiliation and/or one emotional issue such as abortion.
Taking control of the national government and all the patronage that is involved is no small matter. Political philosophy is one thing, but having jobs to dispense is another. Accordingly, in order to win the national elections, our elected officials in Washington are trying hard to be certain that the pork barrel is properly attended to, and that the party faithful are rewarded appropriately. To that end, pet projects are included in spending bills that pass through Congress; sometimes finding their way in while the public isn t paying any attention.
If this sounds like the ramblings of a disgusted and/or disillusioned voter, that is not the case. Really, I love our system of constitutional democracy, which works for two simple reasons.
First, in their great wisdom, the founders of the republic provided for a system of constitutional checks and balances that, despite its flaws, is singular in recorded history.
Next, the makeup of our electorate is such that no extremist of the right or left is likely to have much success in implementing his (or her) programs. Presidents do not make the office, rather the office and the system of checks and balances make the president. Eventually, whoever holds the office tends to head towards the middle.
In the meantime, the system rolls on, and the country survives, which we should all be happy about. Despite the irrationality that is displayed on occasion, and as wasteful and/or irresponsible as our elected representatives may be now and then, there is no system like it on the face of the earth.
