Offseason for politics

I love sports and politics. Both have a lot in common, the bad boys/girls, competition, the fans and the intense media scrutiny.

Both used to have an offseason. During this period, preparation for the next season, draft picks/candidates are scouted; managers switch teams, choices are analyzed and the fans/voters can breathe.

I want my political offseason back. We had, what a whole hour after the 2006 election before the first candidate for the 2008 election?

The states are jockeying for position to be first in the primaries. God only knows how that is going to shake out.

They are anticipating at least 1 billion to be spent on the 2008 presidential campaign. Most of the money is earmarked for TV ads. Who is benefiting from this? The owners of the TV stations.

How about the stations run the ads for nothing and they can be given a corporate tax deduction? Or no TV ads and candidates actually have to face the electorate?

We don't know who we are actually selecting, only a packaged version. Doesn't homemade macaroni and cheese taste better than a boxed pre-packaged version?

My friend said there is a leadership vacuum. She is so right. No one is willing to state the truth or say what they mean because their consultant's brains will explode. Straight talk express? That train derailed long time ago.

Like our athletes, maybe we as voters don't want our politicians to tell us the truth. Maybe we want to be told what we want want to hear. Maybe we are simply not ready to hear that the dry cleaner didn't shrink our clothes. We are facing real problems, we need leaders who are willing to tell us the harsh realities. We as an electorate have to be prepared to hear it.

I want my leadership to made mistakes and learned from them. I hope that I am not alone.