When I was a kid, and televised entertainment consisted of three networks and something we referred to as the “weird channel”, I used to watch a fair amount of professional wrestling. Unsurprisingly, this found its home on the weird channel. The characters were all preposterous, the costumes outlandish and the commentary wildly over the top, all of which was absolutely appropriate for the goals of the enterprise.
Unfortunately, US political campaigns have become disturbingly reminiscent of this circus-like relic of my childhood. Take, for example, the first Republican presidential debate last month. The broadcast blasted open with wall-to-wall red, white and blue pyrotechnics and patriotic music. The moderator opened with, “Tonight, the race for the White House takes flight”, as if the candidates were blasting off on a mission to Mars. If only. The eight hopefuls were introduced under a Jumbotron video display to disturbingly wild applause from a studio audience that seemed seriously overcaffeinated.
The first question was about the state of the US economy. But instead of a serious, data-based enquiry, the Fox News moderators showed clips of a few individuals complaining about inflation and then asked why Rich Men North of Richmond, a chart-topping country song featuring tired old gripes about taxes and welfare cheaters, had struck such a nerve. So, instead of asking for facts and figures that might force candidates to take uncomfortably unpopular, reality-based positions, the moderators chose anecdotes and unaccountably popular music. For the next two hours, the candidates tried to show – like those professional wrestlers – how tough they were, using rehearsed, likely focus-tested applause lines, until they were asked about Donald Trump, when they pretty much all became as meek as kittens.
After each commercial break, the camera turned to a pair of “analysts” who seemed to be auditioning for jobs as ESPN sports channel talking heads. This was unsurprising as the event was held in the home of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks. One offered the addle-minded observation that former vice-president Mike Pence was like Coke Classic, while this cycle’s most popular empty suit, Vivek Ramaswamy, was like Red Bull.
For the next 15 months, this ridiculous sideshow will take centre stage. It’s fuelled by the symbiotic relationship between the candidates and the media, while the voters get stuck with the fire and the fumes. The circus serves the candidates by distracting voters from asking uncomfortable questions about the many serious problems our next president will face. It’s much easier and more politically expedient for them to pander to whatever crowd or interest group they’re facing – like wearing jeans and pretending to like corn dogs at the Iowa State Fair – than to develop and defend policy positions tethered to practicality. The circus also serves the media, as it’s much easier and cheaper to fill their 24/7 news hole with polls, personalities and handicapping the horse race than with serious journalism that might help equip voters to make a decision that just might affect how long life on Earth is viable. It’s an unserious process with serious consequences.
Admittedly, most Americans aren’t paying much attention now and won’t until primary voting begins next spring, if then. That’s the problem with circuses – they’re fun to watch for a while, but pretty soon they become too much to take. Hopefully, the Trump version has bored the bulk of the voting audience.
President Thomas Jefferson once said, “The government you elect is the government you deserve,” and while it’s true the American electorate is too passive in tolerating the media’s sports-like campaign coverage, both of these power players make it way harder than it should be to become an informed voter. Trying to find the meaning amid all the mayhem is like trying to wrestle a bowl of jelly, a sport which, sadly, never made it to the weird channel.
