Political Stump

I was at an event recently where 4 politicians were given the opportunity to speak.

It made me remember why most people hate politics.

Not that any of them were poor speakers, far from it. The youngest of the bunch was a woman about my age (32) give or take a year or two. She was the best speaker, and she made me wonder if she had been on her high school's debate team, so forceful was she.

Political "season" never ends, it is just more active at times than others. The November general elections were a few weeks ago, but the presidential primaries are looming, some of them only a little more than a month or so away. This primary, for the 2008 presidential elections, will be the longest running and most expensive in our country's history. I've bitched about that before, and I don't want to get too far off track, but I'm astonished when the news shows fundraising totals for each candidate. Where the heck does all that money come from?

Anyway.

Each politician given the opportunity for a few minutes at the microphone said basically the same thing. Two women and two men, two state reps and two state senators. As fascinating as I find the political process, I was bored witless by the speechifying. More people than the politicos took the mic, (four other visiting dignitaries who were just as boring) and by the end I wanted to act like a twelve-year-old and whine about "Can we go now?"

I often bemoan the state of voter apathy in this country, but if what I saw was what most people see when they see/hear politicians....well....then I understand a bit better why people are so apathetic.

One of my admittedly ancient Swedish pop songs that I listen to for assistance in keeping up my language skills has a line that I think about whenever Congress is deadlocked over something, or I notice that somehow, none of the elected bodies, state or federal, seem to get anything done. The singer/songwriter is a fella named Mauro Scocco, someone who writes a whole lot of Swedish pop. The songs that he records himself tend to not have the brightest outlook, but for all the melancholy, I love his music. The line is politiker mot väggen som bara står och stammar, which translates to politicians against the wall who only stand and stutter. And sometimes, isn't that all they do?

Hm, talk about melancholy. Aren't I cheerful today? The weather has been grey and miserable, raining and cold, which contributes to my bad attitude.

As lame as I found the speeches, I still think I'd love, love, love to work as a lobbyist, or in some other position where I would be in a place to participate in the political process. I don't want to be a politician myself; but I'd like to be in the midst of it. If I wasn't having a fit of the shys today, I would have boldly asked the young state senator if I could come to work for her. Doing what, you ask? No clue. Wouldn't really matter, honestly.

Listening to: Dr. Space Dagbok, Mauro Scocco, "Det Finns," release date 1991.