The Dems Debate
Did you watch Democrats' debate on CNN Monday night? Probably you watched in KW only if you are into politics or were curious about how the YouTube-asked questions would play. Actually the debates were interesting if only for their illustration of the coming shift in electoral politics on a national level.
The pitch now really is to the computer generation. The candidates are learning that this is (perhaps) the only group of voters that still believes it can make a difference and that who's in the White House really matters. Many, if not most, other voters, have come to recognize politics for what it is: money rules -- and with a vengeance.
Another reason the candidates are pitching the computer generation is that, next to the moneyed crowd, the computer generation has greater communicating power. It is a group that actually talks to each other, albeit in a way few others may understand. That, of course, is why each candidate has a commuter-savvy staff or blogger consultant who is likely to be twenty something.
In case you didn't know, it is these twenty and thirty-somethings that have the Congressional staff jobs in Washington. You almost have to be that young (or be on some serious drugs) to be able to stay awake for the 20-hour days (and sometimes more) working in Washington often requires. Think about that the next time you want a waking nightmare. The most crucial recommendations that turn into decisions for the country are being made by twenty-and-thirty-something staffers on something less than 4 hours sleep a night! They only bring in us older folks when the smelly stuff hits the fan, and then only to clean it up. What a life!
BTW, those in the twenty-something crowd outside the Beltway are the harshest critics of politics. So the candidates know that if they can reach these folks, they can really strike a nerve in the country, and perhaps for the long term. In that sense the stakes are really high.
However, as one long-term Speaker of the House -- the over-65 crowd will know who he is -- put it, "All politics are local." Thus it will be interesting to assess the situation in KW once the candidates get rolling. Particularly interesting will be the style of "appealing" to the voters. Do any of the current flock really look appealing?
Ugh! The very thought makes me want to go for a walk along the beach to clear my head of all the nonsense, with more to come, that I just dread.
Right now turtles seem a lot more "appealing."
The pitch now really is to the computer generation. The candidates are learning that this is (perhaps) the only group of voters that still believes it can make a difference and that who's in the White House really matters. Many, if not most, other voters, have come to recognize politics for what it is: money rules -- and with a vengeance.
Another reason the candidates are pitching the computer generation is that, next to the moneyed crowd, the computer generation has greater communicating power. It is a group that actually talks to each other, albeit in a way few others may understand. That, of course, is why each candidate has a commuter-savvy staff or blogger consultant who is likely to be twenty something.
In case you didn't know, it is these twenty and thirty-somethings that have the Congressional staff jobs in Washington. You almost have to be that young (or be on some serious drugs) to be able to stay awake for the 20-hour days (and sometimes more) working in Washington often requires. Think about that the next time you want a waking nightmare. The most crucial recommendations that turn into decisions for the country are being made by twenty-and-thirty-something staffers on something less than 4 hours sleep a night! They only bring in us older folks when the smelly stuff hits the fan, and then only to clean it up. What a life!
BTW, those in the twenty-something crowd outside the Beltway are the harshest critics of politics. So the candidates know that if they can reach these folks, they can really strike a nerve in the country, and perhaps for the long term. In that sense the stakes are really high.
However, as one long-term Speaker of the House -- the over-65 crowd will know who he is -- put it, "All politics are local." Thus it will be interesting to assess the situation in KW once the candidates get rolling. Particularly interesting will be the style of "appealing" to the voters. Do any of the current flock really look appealing?
Ugh! The very thought makes me want to go for a walk along the beach to clear my head of all the nonsense, with more to come, that I just dread.
Right now turtles seem a lot more "appealing."
Labels: politics, Pop Culture
posted by Conchette at 9:30 AM
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