Let the race begin

And you thought the Derby was the big race. If only politics could be so pleasant.

As a matter of fact, I'd like to see elections conducted more like the Derby. No plethora of ads. No mud slinging, except on the track. We'd get an objective spelling out of the candidates' record, complete with voting record, notes about their particular quirks along the way (starts out well but fades, for example). We'd come out to the polls with much fanfare (why doesn't someone sing "My Old Kentucky Home" as we're waiting in line to vote?). We'd see the candidates parade by us one last time, then place our bets--I mean, ballots--and when the dust settled, we'd have a winner.

The process as it is now is a bit tiresome. I think that reflects in the ballots cast. It's certainly reflected in spot news-heavy tv news, which is responding to viewers' insistence that they don't want to see more stories about the political process. Even though it impacts their lives in more ways than a burned-down house in another part of the state ever will, the message connecting viewers to votes has been lost along the way somehow. In the end, many end up wavering behind the curtain, staring at a list of unfamiliar names or a confusing mental mishmash of mixed messages, trying to remember: Which one was against what? What was she going to do? What did he say he'd fight for? What do I have in the fridge for dinner tonight, or am I going to have to stop at the grocery on the way home?

It comes down to deciding that which button you push really matters. Maybe if the process were shorter, more succint--like the Derby--more of us would come to that conclusion.

For now, hang on--it's going to be a bumpy ride into the final stretch.