Politicians and Perception

    My rant this week is about is about the way we view politicians in this country.(Sorry, kids, if this is too heavy a subject, but, it topped the list of things that aggravated me this week so it's what I'm going with.)
    A lot of the right wing newscasts this week have wasted a lot of air time complaining about Obama doing the student loan thing on Jimmy Fallon. They also wasted a lot of oxygen on Hilary Clinton taking time out to have a couple of beers and shake her booty during her visit to Colombia. (Probably the tamest thing that went on in Colombia that week).
    They said this is not the sort of behavior that our nations leaders should exhibit. Of course, they failed to mention Mitt Romney's appearance on Letterman doing the Top 10 list, or, going way back, to Nixon's appearance on Laugh In in the late 60's. This, however, is not really surprising. It's only reprehensible to them when it's something the Democrat's do. Fair and balanced, kids, fair and balanced.
    That said, I don't have a problem with conservative beliefs. Some of them I agree with, some I don't. The same thing goes with liberal beliefs. What gets my goat is the attempted polarization that some in the media seek to inflict, on both sides of the spectrum.
    Life is way too complicated to deal with in this manner. Politics are way too complicated to deal with in this manner. Anyone that tells you any different is either a fool or has a perverse agenda.
   Now, it doesn't bother me in the least to see The President on Jimmy Fallon. It doesn't bother me at all to see Hillary Clinton have a beer and a turn on the dance floor. I thought Romney was a good sport on Letterman (a bit stiff, perhaps, but he's not an actor)(Dutch would have nailed it!) It shows they are...........wait for it............HUMAN!
    That is what I look for in a politician, actual red American blood, with a sense of humor, an ability to be self-deprecating, an imagination, an ability to walk a way from the job for a minute, have fun and blow off steam. You can't be effective in any high pressure job without the ability to decompress and unwind.
   Unfortunately, I think, the people who are best suited for politics are the ones who wouldn't dare get involved. The media (on both sides) crank the glare of the spotlight up so much that hardly anyone can stand up to its glow. So, hardly anyone of substance (with more than a little common sense) dares offer themselves up for it.
    So (most of the time) we are left with idealogues and extremists. People so committed to their own inanity that compromise is impossible. People who seek to impose their own version of reality on everyone instead of approaching problems with an open mind. It is this arrogance of will that permeates national politics today. It is this mentality that creates contention and conflict instead of searching for solutions. These people want to win not compromise. So this is the mess we are left with.
   Congress has been hovering at a 9% approval rate for this very reason and until our perceptions of who we support for these offices change, until we do our own research and demand answers, not allowing ourselves to be influenced by the perceptions of corporate media (who have a very vested interest in the outcome) we will continue to sputter down this same dismal route.