GOP Prez. Debates…..Show Pony Pageant ….Cult of Personality vs Leadership- Competency Test

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill famously said….

Politics is not a game but serious business.

One would have to debate that point today looking at the American Political Landscape. In a nation of three hundred forty million of some of the most talented people on the planet, the circus like atmosphere of our leadership class ( U.S. Congressional Show last week) makes those introspective minds draw a pause on how we have allowed the Cult of Personality to overtake the governance of the ship of state.

Kai Anderson’s quote that “All Politics have become a Personality Cult Now” aptly describes the current environment.

What’s even worse the American Campaign Industry that is driven by endless focus group data wrongly believes that a candidate’s competency is far less important than high favorability ratings.

So, we have created somewhat of a vicious cycle which feeds itself.

No where is that better on display as in the current GOP Presidential Primary Debates which has become a platform for brief sound bites that create great Click Bait that push visibility instead of any form of substantive discussion about the issues.

I watched the first one and it really looked like a primary school lunchroom food fight. Lots of feigning outrage, insincere comments, and persona projections to illicit the emotional response of the loyal GOP voters.

Unfortunately, what the candidates and their hapless overpaid staffs of “experts” don’t seem to understand that most Americans are exhausted!

Especially GOP Voters that lived through the insanity of the Pandemic of which we never quite got on board with all the restrictions of our rights, the 2020 loss which well over half think were stolen, Biden’s vapid leadership, Bidenomics that fueled inflation which deeply impact the quality of life and our degrading status as the Global leader due to lots of poor decisions by our Commander in Chief.

From my therapist perspective…this sounds like major trauma.

So instead of Centrist healing words, creative visionary thoughts, inspiring motivational hope from the gaggle of “Job Seeking Prez. Candidates” we have an endless mishmash of so many words along with attempts to emotionally manipulate our tired souls.

Any therapist worth her/his salt would tell you such negative karma only produces one thing ….. a shut down of all affect and resistance to listening to all further advice….for its all sounds like noise

It is amazing all these young smart(?) “experts” making big coin that are so far removed from the energy that is driving most Americans today.

Oh Yes….I’ve met them and their superficiality and dependence on this quick transactional interaction with you possesses not even a hint of relational sincerity.

Sorry…So fake….and So Dump ….and it’s So Painful !

All they want is your email in order to send the endless stream of campaign propaganda which of course is crafted by even more out of touch experts that do not have a clue about the distress most people feel every day as they rush to keep it all together. ?

As you can see the entire infrastructure of these campaigns are quite literally founded on nothing

…..just like the weaver of the invisible thread produced the clothes for the emperor and it took the innocence of a child to declare the obvious truth.

All our candidates are naked and have no clothes.

I watched most of the first GOP Prez debate and none of the second as the snippets and finger pointing somehow offends my Reagan 11th Commandment.

Good Republicans do not criticize other Republicans.

?….sorry I’m Old School …served on the NHGOP Exec Com for twenty five years and invoked this more than once at a monthly meeting.

Maybe it’s the tribalism of my ethnic sub-culture where unity was our greatest energy that pushed us upward high above the fray of racism to a place where such smallness had no impact upon us.

Got to agree with 45 these debates are the grist for the Dems mill to produce excellent campaign material in the General Elections.

To be perfectly honest here…..on the debate stage if I am going to be evaluating Leadership, Competency and Vision

– Gov. Doug Burgum is head and shoulders above everyone there but alas he is not a Shiny Show Pony.

He is the quintessential American Dream and Success Story ….he got the entire package….from brilliant Technologist Entrepreneur, State-Wide Leader and Philanthropist…..none of the show ponies on that stage can match those credentials.

The Legacy Media laps up all of the GOP’s incompetent strategy to be used next year as even more small sound bits that will be endlessly repeated

…thousands of times from August to November in a form of slick Messaging Propaganda to enhance their bias.

Got to complement their efforts as they have achieved an excellent success recipe.

As we approach the third debate what if the candidates actually were asked some questions that were not formulated from the WDC Chattering Class but from somebody standing in the Walmart parking lot in Claremont New Hampshire.

This would be a positive step forward.

Then instead of using their answer to degrade another one of their Prez rivals…..

Hard to say this but…..they looked into the camera and like Pres. Clinton said

…..”I feel your pain” and then went on to express their own sincere thoughts on the matter.

This would be a quantum leap forward to engaging the basis of some substantive dialog.

Unfortunately, this limiting of information is not just applicable to this Prez Primary but has become the standard of how governance is done in our nation.

I attended a local Zoning Board meeting last week and watched this suppression in action….this has become the standard….no wonder nothing gets done.

Unless the paradigm can change in these Prez Primary Debates, they can expect more declining viewership and with each passing debate the utility of their existence will be greater and greater called into question.

This unfortunately supports the current President’s strategy not to debate anyone and we will see in 2024 if there is not some clever attempt to nix the idea of a Presidential Candidates Debate.

Yet we can only blame ourselves …..for we are not interested in Leadership or Competency but love the flash of personality for this is what American Culture has become …..the Cult of Celebrity.

Churchill got it right ……Politics is serious business ….no place for Show Ponies but for Determination, Intellect and Vision

Something in short supply within the entire American Campaign Industry

More of the same only begets future failure.

Time to try something different ….if you still even have the imagination to conceive what that might or could be.

?

?

?

?

?

?