by Whalehead King

Created on: February 04, 2008   Last Updated: March 19, 2008

We are political animals. The strength of the republic depends on our taking an interest in politics, not just who is in charge now, but in who will inherit the mantle of leadership. There is no time like the present to make an informed decision.

Politics can often seem like a sideshow. We are bombarded with frivolous details that tell nothing and everything depending on how you choose to parse them. No matter, the Devil is in the details and the more we know and debate the better. Better a year-round spotlight than an occasional candle. I admit the glare is often distracting, but we ignore the process at our peril. Better that the public is aware of every gaff and vision and choose accordingly than decisions being made by party wonks and Tammany men who pull the levers of the political machine.

Democracies run on the informed consent of the governed. Our leaders, current and potential, should be held up to the light, exposed and on stage. We watch them perform their duties and we watch them try to seduce us into voting their vision. Sometimes they make rational arguments, sometimes they are a flash in the pan, sometimes they appeal to our emotions. They need to do it twenty-four hours every day of the year. It is their job. If the campaign is long and grueling, it is the nature of the beast. Snap decisions don't always yield the best results. It can take decades to build momentum. Don't ever think for a minute a politician isn't weighing his or her future right now. We deserve the right to debate it all the time.

Is a month too long or too short? Is a year too long or too short? Is a lifetime spent as an active citizen being called on to vote when needed too much to ask or expect? Plenty of people vote without being familiar with the issues and all to often the country gets what it deserves. Primaries have structure and rules, but they know no seasons. Right now a future presidential candidate is stumping though Congress or the Senate or in one of fifty state legislatures. Right now a future American president is the president of his or her high school class. The process is endless, without a beginning but with a definite end.

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