Earlier this month, I wrote a piece laying out what I thought Obama and McCain needed to do to make good on their promises of a new type of politics. So far, that does not seem like it's happening--not by a long shot. Dan Balz of the Washington Post has a great piece on this that I think is worth quoting at length:
A campaign between Barack Obama and John McCain once offered enormous possibilities for something new. Instead, the two presumptive nominees have opened their campaigns for the White House with what looks and sounds like a repeat of the kind of politics both have promised to leave behind.
Since Obama wrapped up the Democratic nomination a few weeks ago, he and McCain have served up a series of indignant exchanges over foreign policy, terrorism, the economy, energy policy and campaign money. Their aides have gone farther, with snarling conference call putdowns and taunting e-mails flowing constantly out of the Chicago and Crystal City headquarters.
...Don't blame the media for this. The campaigns have deliberately adopted postures of hyper-aggressiveness to set the early tone. The testosterone levels appear extremely high. No charge however small or incidental can go unanswered. No proposal, no matter how innocuous or provocative, can be discussed calmly or intelligently.
This is a great analysis of a phenomenon that's a crying shame. I love politics; I think vigorous debate over the future of our nation is crucial to our continued success. But like a lot of Americans, I'm getting ready to tune out unless there's a change in the overheated rhetoric. We should be debating the issues, but our politicians need to drop the personal attacks and the hostility behind them.
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