Joe Matthews has written an interesting piece over at the Daily Beast with the off-putting title "Palin's Brilliant 2012 Play". (I am immediately turned off by the two words "brilliant" and "Palin" in the same sentence.) The article is less about Sarah Palin, however, than it is about the state of perpetual campaigning today.
Who the heck is going to run the country if all our politicians are campaigning all the time?
It's clear to some, Mr. Matthews included, that Sarah Palin has resigned from her post in order to launch a 2012 run at the White House. Whether or not that is laughable is another issue.
For all her excuses about not being able to run Alaska because of those pesky ethics investigations, Sarah Palin is really unable to run Alaska because she can't run for president and be Governer of Alaska at the same time.
Marshall points out:
This reality is why Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has already announced he would not run for re-election next year; he’s too busy working as a presidential contender. And it’s why Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, in the middle of a serious budget crisis, left the state for a campaign swing through Iowa and New Hampshire, where votes won’t be counted until January 2012.
So where does that leave us as voters? As constituents? It seems that only people who aren't in politics have time to run for office, and then once they gain that office they have no time to govern since they must turn around and begin campaigning for the next election.
It doesn't apply to just the presidential elections, either. Running for Governor has become a full time occupation. Marshall uses California as an example:
Although California won’t pick a new governor until November 2010, the race has been well under way for more than a year...It it is the three leading contenders for the Republican gubernatorial nomination who have set new records for early starts. The campaign of Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, who took office only in January 2007, is issuing nearly daily blasts at former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, a relative latecomer to the race. (She started only this February, though that came after what she says was more than a year of reading up on the state, meeting people, and planning.)
Marshall's solution is regulation:
Is there anything that can be done to shorten campaigns? Given the competitive pressures of running for office, candidates are unlikely to dial back without outside pressure. Campaign-finance regulations, which need revamping anyway, might be re-examined with an eye not only to limiting the influence of money but also to limiting the length of campaigns.
My suggestion is more logical and cooler: pinch hitters. Why can't we send the big names out to campaign 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 335 days a year? (We'll give them some time off--they're going to be tired) and leave a corps of normal, smart, non-politician type people to run the country/state/city/town/village?
Let's face it: politicians have become celebrities, with giant egos, and a penchant for excessive behavior. They only way to run this country is to sneak in the back door and do their jobs for them.
I don't even think they'll notice.