Summer Olympics Feel Good, but Presidential Campaign Feels Bad

With three months to go before the election, Yahoo! News asked a handful of undecided voters how they're leaning in the presidential race. Here's a perspective from one voter.

COMMENTARY |

Coverage from the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London and support for Team USA has been inspirational. A fair competition well-played, which actually leads us to another four-year cycle, 2012 summer politics, not nearly so well-played.

First, there is the name-calling. In July, campaign rhetoric took a steady dive. Obama coined "Romney-Hood," the reverse of Robin Hood, and Romney returned the compliment with "Obamaloney." This sounds like a bullies in the kindergarten playground, taunting, "Liar, liar, pants on fire!" until someone calls a grownup to stop the nonsense. Please, could the media step into that gap, as voters urgently need to hear details of an economic recovery plan.

Then, there's the bickering. Did you know, so The Wall Street Journal tells us, that Romney and Obama are bickering over slogans? Romney's "Believe in America" is criticized as boring and vapid. Obama's one-word "Forward." slogan has prompted a debate by grammar geeks over its use of punctuation, while Romney calls the tag line "absurd." My goodness, have these two nothing more important to debate?

Shame on the press, too. How about some in-depth questioning from the media? Handed the opportunity to interview Mitt and Ann Romney, I resented CNN's Piers Morgan chatting about how that family enjoys summers at the lake, rather than pressing on with hard questions about Romney's stand on taxation.

Meanwhile, Obama's stuck. The jobs report in July was, once again, tepid. With only three months to go until November, no one expects to see a marked improvement, which suits GOP strategy nicely. So, what's the incumbent's plan? Not his plan for fancy ads, but the actual jobs plan going forward, assuming a Republican-led Congress. These difficulties across the aisle are not new news, and we need to know what the White House strategy is, now.

Don't forget the tax returns. Romney refuses to submit to a complete background check by releasing his tax returns. That is less information than you and I submit for a mortgage application. I am watching this behavior closely because I simply cannot condone it. I fear ethical politics is an unfortunate oxymoron; the behavior of teenage Olympic champions and challengers leave our candidates flat in the dust.

Speaking of London, Romney's visit was embarrassing. With absolutely no diplomatic agenda, no war zone nor language barriers, Mitt Romney managed to offend our allies. For me, this represented an utter lack of diplomacy skills and manners taught in kindergarten.

As we come to the close of the summer games, we reflect on the nature of fair play in competition. How the voters would benefit if the presidential camps would do likewise. C'mon, gentlemen, time's a-wasting.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/summer-olympics-feel-good-presidential-campaign-feels-bad-171300664.html

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