Election 2010 – The Backside Backslide

Six more days and the 2010 elections will be behind us.  Whew!  It has been nasty and even though there are few as politically geeky as I, it is doubtful anyone will be more pleased when the ballots are counted and this one becomes history.  I sit here pondering our national progress and the state of affairs here in Iowa.  I question whether we are making progress or just carping about the edges of the problems we face. 

I was looking back at my past posts and stumbled across what I wrote on Inauguration Day 2009.  President Obama had been sworn in and many in the country sensed we had turned a corner.  I closed that piece by saying “our time is now.”  It was, in my opinion, time for Americans to rise to our patriotic duty, put the squabbling in the rearview mirror and get to work.  Much has changed, but much has stayed the same. 

Anger, distrust and misleading accusations seemed to be the norm this campaign season.  In the heat of the moment, it is hard to say what that all meant and what will come of this antagonism.  Like most voters, I have definite opinions about what needs to be done and strong feelings about which path we should take.  However, I remain as optimistic as I was on January 20, 2009.  This country is worth fighting for and government policy should be debated openly.

My frustration with the 2010 election slugfest stems from the fact the airways appeared clogged with the negative more than usual.  Candidates were less concerned with ideas and vision than they were with winning – presumably the details of governing would come later.    

Election 2010 (Photo supplied by Kent Carlson)

The picture to the right was posted by my friend Kent Carlson to his Facebook page yesterday.  (Feel free to make your own joke.  Many did on Kent’s page.)  While it is hard to believe a playground manufacturer would think having children slide out the backside of an elephant was a good idea, I thought the photo was an excellent metaphor for this year’s election contest.  Much of our focus is on the wrong side of the equation, so to speak, whether your party mascot is an elephant or a donkey.  We need to spend less time dumping on the other guy and more on making the most of the opportunity to improve our situation. 

Many new people will be elected to local, state and federal offices next week and many will be returned to service.  Regardless, the charge remains the same.  Our time is now and we will be successful if we remember the keyword is “our.”  As long as those who win focus on ideas, moving forward and worry less about accumulating power and how to win the next election, I remain confident we can take advantage of this moment. 

It is up to us to keep those who we elect focused on the job at hand.  Tomorrow will be better, if we do. 

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(Graham Gillette can be reached at grahamgillette@gmail.com)

This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register blog entry.