In a discussion about the rigorous process of the medias scrutinising the life and history of political candidates: Jon Stewart: Do you think there are people of substance who couldve done this country great things who we will just never know about because of the corrosive nature of our politics? Matt Bai: Ive been covering national politics for 15 years - Ive covered 4 presidential campaigns. I do think we lose people who dont want to put themselves through this unendurable process (or their families through it). I think we drum good people out of politics who are defined by the single worst thing they have ever done as opposed to the context of their public lives. And I think we make it much much easier for people who have no business holding office to enter the process because when youre not talking about ideas and worldviews and agendas [but instead] when youre talking about character and personality, it makes it very easy for someone to float through the process without ever having to explain themselves or demonstrate what they know. // This quote made me think a lot. I think the character of any public servant matters greatly, but no one is perfect and it is implausible to demand perfection from anyone. Bais response effectively articulates the obsession over personality that I feel the media has in Western politics, to the detriment of an effective engagement of ideas. I also think hes right in saying that some politicians can get quite far in politics who shouldnt have. Food for thought.
Posted on: Wed, 15 Oct 2014 12:08:57 +0000