It's finally begun - the much talked about 2012 US Presidential election campaigning got into high gear this month, with a host of high-profile candidates announcing their candidacy.
For about 20 months, we can expect twists and tales ranging from astonishing to celebratory to mind-racking. It may not be as exciting as when there's no incumbent, but still, the Republican race is worth following as there's no front runner - yet.
Much more than nitpicking the issues on which the candidates run, I look forward most to the level of subtle wordplay and yes-I-did-but-no-I-did-not statements they make as they fall over each other to garner the support of all the sections of society, most notably the core party followers and the moderates.
It's also a little unfortunate that candidates are scrutinized for things they did, even as a child, in some cases even before they were born.
It's a litmus test for the PR persons involved - since they have to handle the fire ignited by their boss' comments. Some candidates will run on platforms which are a full 180 degrees reversal from just a couple of years ago and in some cases, just a few days earlier. Reading those press releases shows the giant balls those men and women have to actually go on the offensive.
Once in a while, you get a candidate who's a big disappointment with a storyline even Stephen King can't better.
Who can forget the media, who will run a single clip of a slip-up or quote without context to completely change the meaning even before the candidate can reply properly to the accusation. Even worse is pedantic scrutiny by the liberal news agents on conservatives and vice-versa. And then on a different planet are Stewart and Colbert, whose main goal in nothing but comedy.
However, they are the very enablers - it's the presence of so many news outlets which ensures that the story will ultimately get out, which we can then read.
To follow what's going on, there're a plethora of sources, though I prefer the blogs because the don't shy away from commentary and can afford to read between the lines, which the old news agents like NYT and WaPo can't, because they just 'report the news'.
So grab your popcorn, set your bookmarks, adjust your screen, let's have some fun.
For about 20 months, we can expect twists and tales ranging from astonishing to celebratory to mind-racking. It may not be as exciting as when there's no incumbent, but still, the Republican race is worth following as there's no front runner - yet.
Much more than nitpicking the issues on which the candidates run, I look forward most to the level of subtle wordplay and yes-I-did-but-no-I-did-not statements they make as they fall over each other to garner the support of all the sections of society, most notably the core party followers and the moderates.
It's also a little unfortunate that candidates are scrutinized for things they did, even as a child, in some cases even before they were born.
It's a litmus test for the PR persons involved - since they have to handle the fire ignited by their boss' comments. Some candidates will run on platforms which are a full 180 degrees reversal from just a couple of years ago and in some cases, just a few days earlier. Reading those press releases shows the giant balls those men and women have to actually go on the offensive.
Once in a while, you get a candidate who's a big disappointment with a storyline even Stephen King can't better.
Who can forget the media, who will run a single clip of a slip-up or quote without context to completely change the meaning even before the candidate can reply properly to the accusation. Even worse is pedantic scrutiny by the liberal news agents on conservatives and vice-versa. And then on a different planet are Stewart and Colbert, whose main goal in nothing but comedy.
However, they are the very enablers - it's the presence of so many news outlets which ensures that the story will ultimately get out, which we can then read.
To follow what's going on, there're a plethora of sources, though I prefer the blogs because the don't shy away from commentary and can afford to read between the lines, which the old news agents like NYT and WaPo can't, because they just 'report the news'.
So grab your popcorn, set your bookmarks, adjust your screen, let's have some fun.
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