Politics

Here we are again, in another election year, and I can’t remember any time in the past when we received as many electronic phone calls, received as many political pleas in the mail, had to suffer through as many television ads imploring us for our votes, had to drive by as many tons of political signage along the highways. Only the very wealthy can afford to run for any political office these days. Or have committees that can raise piles and piles of cash. And we invariably toss in the recycle bin all the “stuff” we get in the mail, hang up on the electronic voices, mute the television ads, turn blind eyes to the highway garbage, just as, I’m sure, nearly everyone else does. What effect does all this spending have on most voters, spending on stuff we ignore or throw away? No effect, if my wife and I are at all representative. I’m always amazed at how really vicious some tv ads become the closer we get to election day, and this year is no exception. The barbs between John McCain and J. D. Hayworth, already sharp, will grow sharper and more poisonous as we move toward November. And President Obama will have to dodge plenty of Republican slings and arrows in Arizona regarding his position on illegal immigration and the border fence to the south. Come on, November. Let’s get this silly business over.