Tired of the Rhetoric

I had a feeling bad things were going to happen when so many people lined up to run for the Presidency of the United States.

It used to be about a one-year event. Around the first of December several candidates announced their wish to pursue this highly coveted office.

But then states wanted to be first to have a caucus or a primary so candidates needed to start a bit earlier and now the campaign is close to a two-year event.

Candidates run out of momentum or money and one bad debate can spell doom for a potential front-runner.

Many times those that talk louder overshadow the candidates with great ideas. People think those candidates have more enthusiasm than the quieter ones.

For many of us, the choices we may have had are long gone and we are forced to vote while holding our noses. It seems to me that to run for this office one needs to be a bit arrogant.

Of course we hear a lot of “I did this,” and “I’m better than them” or you fill in the blank.

I, for one, can tell you that many of these people might think that they can walk on water. I can walk on water but it needs to be frozen first!

This job pays $400,000 per year plus a $50,000 expense account. So the next time you see someone at a basketball or football game holding up a sign touting the coach or an All-American athlete for president please think how silly that looks.

Who in their right mind would take that kind of pay cut to be the leader of this great country? I’m sure these people can handle the pressure of the media.

But losing a game is a bit different from being the Commander-in-chief.

I also believe that colleges do a better job of vetting a prospective coach than we do vetting a presidential candidate. Or maybe we like how a person woos us and the other one doesn’t do much for us at all.

Wouldn’t it be interesting if instead of interviews for a coaching position there were debates with the top 3-5 candidates? That might be a bit interesting.

But hey, these coaches make anywhere from 2-7.5 million dollars or more. Wouldn’t it be important to see just how a coach recruits or makes adjustments at halftime?

These things are important if they expect that fan base to keep buying season tickets and donating to the athletic fund.

How will this prospective coaching candidate speak to the alumni?

Will they like this person or will the alums keep their checkbooks in their pockets?

I’ve seen how candidates raise money and to be honest it is a bit obscene. All they need to do is show up at a big function where the donation is thousands of dollars just to shake hands and get their picture taken with the candidate.

Of course there are those promises made that gets everyone’s enthusiasm built up. What are the chances those things will actually happen?

Don’t coaches promise to win championships? How long will it take to get those great athletes on board so that the winning will begin?

It is never easy for either a President or a coach to succeed unless they surround themselves with quality, hard-working people. Presidents need a good cabinet with experience and coaches need good assistants that know and can teach the game.

I do know that it is easier for a coach to tell his QB to throw the bomb as in running a TD heaving pass play than it is for a President to tell his Generals to use a bomber. But in each instance victory is the main goal isn’t it?

I know that comparing positions of power is a little silly but I’m merely pointing out that I for one am tired of the negative rhetoric that is spewing over the airwaves. I would really like to hear what one believes in and why their plan would be beneficial to the USA. And if someone has a better idea, let’s hear it.

Don’t just say, “Well that’s a stupid plan,” because we’ve heard that answer way too much already.