This midterm election is an important election for President Obama's policies and his legacy while his popularity in poll is low at the moment. Republican majority in the House is a sure thing. The Senate may go to Republican majority, also. At this final hours, several battle ground states are still too close to predict. The call for the last minute donations to the campaigns are frantic.
photo by US Senate Collection
This midterm election is to be the most expensive in the history, costing nearly 4 billion dollars. Each state has interesting stories and its moments but, over all, this election cycle has been boring and disappointing in substance. There are no fresh ideas, new dialogues, or taking real, mature responsibilities. The qualities of some of the candidates are disappointing. They stay on the scripted power points and play the planned game. Even that sometimes, very inappropriately.
The reality is that the issues confronting us are complex and nuanced. It takes a lot of effort to understand and make sense of the problems, domestically and internationally. Another fact is that there are no quick solutions or remedies for most of the problems, crisis, and issues. It requires having correct informations, thinking through it, grasping the nature of the problems, and coming up with a solution which can withstand the test of the time.
The issues, we are facing now, have not arisen overnight. They are all long term problems in developing and solving. We can't understand or have a meaningful conversation with quick and short political talking points or scripted and playing-game type of debates. Complexity and nuance doesn't play well in the modern American political campaigns so that this midterm election has turned into disappointing Washington game with varying degree of local flavors.
One other disappointing but clear fact is that the outcome of this cycle of elections are going to be, largely, decided by voter turn-out. What it means is that which electoral group is going to vote in more numbers. Older white male voters vs. African- American voters. Women vs. Men. Which age group. Income and education level, and etc., etc. It is almost an election of a demographical group than picking a real representative leader of the time.
This undeniable fact has been made much worse because of another fact of being our President the first African-American President. Some demographics are against him, his policies, and his leadership without question. He is a thinking, longterm, and nuanced President, and it is not sitting too well with American public, not all but a significant number, who wants instant gratification. We all know that instant gratifications require paying dearly for it later, for sure.
I'm paying attention to Kansas, Iowa, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, and Kentucky. Kentucky for a miracle.
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