I went to Ohio University the other day, because Fox News was going to be there. There was a big election returns party in Baker Center cosponsored by Fox News and Palestra.com. I believe I was the only Mike Huckabee supporter in the building. I went up to the 3rd floor, sat next to the ledge and watched the party from above. We had been given little dry-erase boards with the Fox News and palestra.com logos on them. I wrote, "I LIKE MIKE" on mine and attached it to the railing (they have little refrigerator magnets on the back) above the party. One by one people began to look up and point, including a guy with a video camera and a palestra.com girl who took my picture. Suddenly, my mind began reeling. What would I say if one of them came up and wanted to talk to me? How would I explain the fact that with obviously no possibility at all of his making it to November, I was a dedicated supporter of Mike Huckabee. I began to rehearse a little answer in my mind, "Because I believe in true democratic politics. I've not yet succumbed to the lure of consensus politics - that elects a person using the buzz words "electability," "popular appeal," "media attention," or "momentum."
This, as one might imagine, has set me on a path of self-discovery. The answer that would have emerged when I thought I would be on TV was actually the thesis for a new world view I am now formulating. Where is our political system headed? How can we even call ourselves a democracy when we anxiously watch poll numbers so that we can "rally" around the winner. WHAT IS THIS!!! We are losing our blessed minds. Democracy is not falling victim to the menace of Communism, totalitarianism, or some other devious force. Our country is being run by media-fed populism. We might as well have the candidates NASCAR race for the presidency, while the electorate is drunk in the grandstands.
Wait a minute! That is what's happening.
Did I mention that I almost gave the lone Ron Paul supporter at the event a kiss?
