My teenage daughter’s one word description of it was “gross.” She was referring to Vice President Gore’s primetime deep-breathing kiss with his wife Tipper at the Democratic Convention.
Now my daughter isn’t against kissing unfortunately. She just doesn’t care who is the best kisser between Bush and Gore. Frankly, I don’t think she’s too impressed with either one. She also thinks it’s strange that this kind of choreographed spontaneity is the stuff of presidential campaigns.
How did we get to the point where our presidential elections are so devoid of content that a candidate’s big innovation is to slap a smooch on his wife? Oh well, I guess it is kinda nice that he’s kissing his own wife instead of somebody else’s. It would be even nicer if folks running for office were a little more like the rest of us, real people instead of just playing real people on TV. It requires that our leaders have experience in the real world of business and in our communities, rather than only knowing the political world of favors, phony attacks, half-truths and media spin.
We know President Clinton wears boxers, not briefs. (Or was it the other way around?) We know that Gore can and will kiss his wife with great ardor if enough homes are tuned in on TV. We know far too much drivel and spin about the personal lives of the politicians and not nearly enough about what principles they truly believe in. If any.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.