Raising The Bar During the Political Silly Season

Being a transplant from California and here in New Hampshire for my first "political silly season," I am really enjoying the opportunity to meet the candidates one-on-one. As the old farmer once said when he was asked who he liked in the current presidential field, "I don't know yet, I've only met nine of them personally. I'll let you know when I've met the other six".

This brings up a very important point about the role of New Hampshire in the primary process.  Being a small state, we have both the opportunity and the responsibility directly interact with the candidates.  It is our impressions, questions and responses that will drive the national debate going forward.  

To that end, I would like to see (and ultimately personally meet) all of the formally declared and legally qualified candidates.  These candidates should also have the opportunity to participate in the various debate forums that are being held.  Some in the media are using their soap boxes to drive the debate, limit participation and pre-select the candidates they like best - this is simply an unacceptable role for the press.  The media should report the news, assist with fact-checking, cover the announcements and meetings, ask tough but fair questions; but they should absolutely not limit our choices to the candidates that they would like to cover (or even pollute the coverage by diverting attention to non-candidates, e.g. Sarah Palin, the main-stream media's piñata du jour).

We tend to focus on the bigger names at the expense of the smaller.  But it is often the smaller names that bring the most interesting perspectives to the debate.  I was very pleased to meet Herman Cain and look forward to meeting Jon Huntsman, Gary Johnson, as well the other lesser-known folk that have thrown their names into the hat.

I would also like to see the candidates campaign in a matter that upholds the community standards that makes New Hampshire such a great place to live.  Let's try something new and avoid the ad-hominem attacks and focus on principles, challenges, policy and leadership.  These are trying times for the country.  It is time for the candidates and their supporters to set an example.  If you as a candidate sink to a low level you will have a hard time convincing me to support your campaign.  Perhaps, by returning to the principles our founders upheld we can restore some of the faith we have collectively lost in our system.

What say you?