Study the track records of the candidates
By Jim Thompson
HCP columnist
There are roughly 100 days until the presidential election. It is a finite time. Any time spent discussing such a useless question as the color of the candidates’ skin or how one categorizes them after said pigmentation has been determined is a waste of time.
These 100 days should be spent discussing their track record and their vision for the future should they win. This is what federal labor law demands when we interview potential employees. Does it not also apply here?
Mr. Trump appears to be white or Caucasian, if you prefer. Ms. Harris’s parents are from India and Jamaica. If someone put a gun to my head and ask me what she is from a DNA point of view, I would probably say Latino-Indian or maybe Latino-Indian-American.
But it should not matter. Both of these individuals have worked in jobs, that to the majority of the legal and illegal residents of the United States, are lofty jobs compared to where they are.
This is a good place to stop and watch the movie musical “Evita.” There is a scene in this movie where Ché Guevara (played by Antonio Banderas) asks, after listening to Evita (played by Madonna) make great promises regarding what she is going to do for the people, says, “But what about us down on the ground?”
The majority of us are down on the ground.
We should be asking these kinds of questions of both candidates while we simultaneously examine their past track records.
Here, before, I have related the story of the symphony orchestra seeking new violinists. Previously, the candidates had sat on a stage, played difficult pieces, in full view of the examining committee. This had resulted in a white, male orchestra. They wanted to change this. So, the next time they examined candidates, they had them perform behind a curtain. Voila! Their selection was not just white males they chose based on performance.
In 1960, John Kennedy and Richard Nixon held the first presidential debate ever shown on television (these were also covered on radio). Operatives for the two candidates kept adjusting the thermostat in the debate room. Kennedy’s got to the thermostat last and raised the temperature. Nixon was known for profusely sweating, and he had also refused to wear makeup. The longer the debate went on, the more stressed he looked.
Afterward, polls showed that those who watched the debate on television gave the win to Kennedy while those who only listened to it on radio gave the win to Nixon.
Style over substance.
Perhaps we could allow our candidates to only campaign at night, in the dark? And only advertise on radio?
Likely not practical. This leaves us with only one path, then. It is a harder path for the voters, but a necessary one: Study the track records of the candidates (you will have to do this on news sources you like and ones you don’t like to get a balanced picture) and then vote on the merits and nothing else.
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Jim Thompson, formerly of Marshall, is a graduate of Hillsboro High School and the University of Cincinnati. He resides in Duluth, Ga. and is a columnist for The Highland County Press. He may be reached at jthompson@taii.com.
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