Campaign antics distract from the real issues

By Dr. James “Jim” Kadlecek

“The hardest thing about any political campaign is how to win without proving that you are unworthy of winning.” – Adlai Stevenson

It’s not a pretty sight. I refer to the current contest between the two Democrat presidential competitors, Clinton and Obama. The tone of the campaign has gotten increasingly snide and a bit nasty. It has disintegrated into pettiness, with each grasping at straws to find ways to be critical of the other.

An example is the recent “bitter” comments by Obama, which Clinton promptly labeled as “elitist and demeaning to people in small-town America.”

Actually, Obama was talking about the difficulty of attracting working-class voters in states like Indiana and Pennsylvania. He explained that many had faced job losses over the past 25 years and they are angry about it. He said “It’s not surprising they get bitter. They cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”

Mrs. Clinton promptly jumped on that, claiming that the comments “were not reflective of the values and beliefs of Americans.” Republican candidate McCain also pounced, saying that Obama had displayed “breathtaking elitism and condescension toward hard-working Americans.”

Whoa!

Since when do candidates and the media make a big deal over someone who is telling the absolute truth? What Obama said is realistic. Many American workers have been and are angry and frustrated at the loss of good-paying jobs, and it is a matter that should be given attention by presidential candidates. It’s not unusual for those who are angry, frustrated and maybe even feeling desperate to turn to religion. It’s also true these feelings have resulted in negative sentiments towards immigrants, global trade and persons that are “different” than them. Unfortunately, sometimes guns are a part of the frustration scenario.

For McCain and Clinton to imply that there is not bitterness among individuals who have had their livelihoods impacted by the realities of our global economy is not truthful. Like it or not, we live in a global marketplace, and the truth is that some jobs have been and will be eliminated or exported to places where costs of labor are less expensive.

The correct position of candidates for office should be to discuss and propose methods to mitigate the economic damage that is done because of the impacts of this ongoing economic trend. Job training and re-training, education, economic development strategies and temporary assistance to workers during job transitions are all being done now for workers in communities around the country. These programs should probably be a higher priority for funding. Perhaps there are some new ideas that the candidates should be discussing. That would certainly be more productive than the sort of political gamesmanship that this latest episode typifies.

I like to believe that American voters on the whole are smarter than some candidates, their campaign advisors and the media apparently think they are. We desperately need an honest, straightforward discussion of the nation’s policy issues. We need to face our problems squarely and deal with them. Obfuscation of those issues to gain some perceived campaign advantage doesn’t raise the bar – it lowers it.

Kadlecek has lived in Doña Ana County since 1996, served in the Colorado Legislature and holds a doctorate in public administration. He’s the author of the book “Capitol Rape.” His column runs on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month and other times that he gets fired up about something.