A Moment On The 'Stump'

  Today, I am going to push the envelope a bit on staying apolitical.  I am not taking sides but feel I should say something about the lack of character of politicians.  They lack professionalism and maturity when it comes to campaigning, at least in America.  I would be curious to know what it is like in other democratic countries.
  It cracks me up when I see political ads on television.  You don't hear what the aspiring politician can do for you, all you see and hear is what is allegedly wrong with his opponent.  Mud slinging to the max.
  I watched the first presidential debate last week and it was like watching a badly written soap opera.
Both sides would attack the other by taking things out of context, twisting facts, giving misleading information and telling lies.  However, they were very good at accurately repeating it over and over and over again.
  There is also something to be said regarding the average American voter, and it is not necessarily positive.  I think Richard Stengel, managing editor of Time, put it very well in this excerpt of his editorial in the October 15th issue:
  When it comes to politics, believing is seeing.  Partisan Republicans see Barrack Obama as dishonest; partisan Democrats see Mitt Romney the same way.  Voters see candidates they support as truth tellers; they regard candidates they oppose as shadier.  We are suffering from a national case of confirmation bias, the idea that we lend credence to information that confirms our opinions and ignore evidence that doesn't --- even in the face of facts.
  And even if we don't suffer from CBS (my newly coined acronym for Confirmation Bias Syndrome), we still have to sort out all the lies, half-truths, and facts that the politicians pour into our heads.
  Do I have a solution?  No, but I would love to see a truth serum administered to the debaters prior to a debate!
  Thank you, Doctor, for fitting me into your busy schedule and listening to me.  This session has been very therapeutic.

Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future - John F. Kennedy