Go Sling Some Mud....

      Mudslinging. Muckraking. Private Investigations. Scandals. Nomination.

      These things all have one thing in common: the Presidential Election Race. Just take a look at the latest headline, "CAIN ACCUSED OF HARASSMENT", and it's easy to see that the candidates spend just as much time (maybe more) degrading their opponents, as they do informing the public of what they would do if president. Finding dirt on the other people in the race is now more important than revising tax plans or coming up with better ways to protect the border than "electrifying the fence and putting in a moat with alligators". Why are politics always hand-in-hand with mudslinging? The answer is, the candidates feel like they must separate themselves from the field of potential candidates. By calling people names? Mr. Perry and Mr. Romney have shown that mentality with Perry calling Romney a cultist (Mormons=cult), and Romney tries to make Perry look like just an idiot from Texas. What do these candidates expected to get elected on? "If I become president...I promise to label all Texans as idiots, and all Mormons as occultists." Surely the muckraking is unnecessary.
     Let's take a history lesson; let's look back to the 1920's. In that decade, America had two presidents: William Harding and Calvin Coolidge. William Harding was a horrible president; in his White House, scandals abounded. But look at Calvin Coolidge. Coolidge was Harding's vice president who succeeded to the presidency after Harding died mid-term. Coolidge served the last year of Harding's White House, then decided to run for reelection. Coolidge was a man of few words, and his campaign was one of the most subdued in history. He would stand on a stage, inform the people of his plans and beliefs, then get off. Not one of his speeches were directed at his opponents, not one of his words slandered his competition. Clearly, the American people liked his style, because he was elected president by a margin never seen before. He garnered over two million more votes than both his opponents combined. And he did it all without slinging mud or 'getting the dirt' on his opponents.
     Politicians, take a lesson from Coolidge--give the name-calling, back biting, scandal digging a rest. The American people aren't looking for a person who can label or investigate well; the American people are looking for someone with character and leadership.
     If you live in a glass house, don't throw rocks; if you live in a White House, don't throw mud.