Spare Me 24/7 Politicians

By Tom Ehrich

I’m okay with a 24/7 news cycle. It’s comforting to know that not a jot of news will fail to reach me instantly.

But may I say, without any partisan leaning, that I am quite weary of 24/7 presidential candidates?

I simply don’t need to know every detail of Newt’s three marriages and the adulterous affairs that preceded them. Or where exactly Mitt is stashing his millions to avoid paying taxes to the nation he wants to lead. Or what latest religious extreme Rick has reached in a desperate search for Tea Party votes.

The incumbent is in a different place, because much of what he does as President actually does interest me because he does it as President and it affects my nation.

But I don’t intend to follow his stump speechifying, his social media campaign, or what he wears here and his wife wears there. I’m not inclined to dissect his emotional aloofness. I am sitting out the debates.

It seems to me we know too much about those who would lead us. And much of what we know is piffle. Nonstop coverage doesn’t bring us more information about them, but rather provides more opportunity for dis-information. Because everyone is gaming the news – and so few news sources remain independent enough to stretch for objectivity – the more we read and watch, the less we know.

I do know this: no leader can endure this much exposure. Even the greatest would lose our respect and loyalty if we had to see, hear and read about them every hour of the day.

So here’s my plan. I am going to read a few news sources deeply, because I trust them. My list includes The New York Times, Atlantic magazine, and The New Yorker magazine.

Otherwise, I’m more focused on what is actually happening to people in this deep recession and will the perps come to justice.