The Presidential Pageant

Right now I am listening (or half listening) to Obama speak to a crowd of 20,000 in Houston. I've heard him before and this speech is much like the others. Schools, health care, global warming, jobs, ending the war in Iraq, foreclosures...these are the issues that he is promising to change. Change... that is his buzzword. Isn't that always the buzzword of non-incumbent politicians? I like Obama but I don't like the politics of elections. The presidential election is not a race, it's a contest.

It is not relevant speeches addressing real problems, it is buzzwords and buzz phrases, pulling at heart strings and loyalties, pumping up crowds while pumping in donations. It is rallying verging on bullying, it is the candidates talking about themselves that verges on bragging.

It is quoting past leaders, and paraphrasing the present leadership. It is the act of sounding firm while holding babies; it is mentioning ordinary citizens' first names and dropping the names of the powerful. It is talking so self-assuredly yet trying to sound humble.

It is invoking blessings while appealing to the masses. It is pointing out the mistakes of the current administration while outlining lofty plans for a new and brighter future. It is staying substantive without losing the crowd with tedium; and outlining an agenda of dreams with plausible promises.

When we realize that this is a choreographed pageant, when we realize that this is a scripted orchestra, when we realize that this is not a race, not a sport, but only a rally, we will see the show for what it truly is.