So jaded…

Gotta love the timing of Hurricane (AKA “Superstorm”) Sandy, just one week before the US Presidential elections. As this catastrophe unfolded, I was reminded of John McCain’s “suspension” of his presidential campaign in 2008 to “go down there to Washington” to fix the financial crisis that hit just prior to that election. Wasn’t that convenient, and didn’t he do a great job? Wasn’t his contribution invaluable, tectonic even? Bla bla bla.

So as I watch both 2012 candidates “suspend” their campaigns – Barack Obama monitoring the storm, calling governors and FEMA officials, looking all presidential and Mitt Romney, packing up canned goods in his $500 jeans – I can’t help but feel a little icky. I’m sure both of them are genuinely concerned about the millions of people impacted by this force of nature, and how America will recover. But I think there’s a bit of gamesmanship going on too. They both appear concerned, empathetic and “leaderly.” The problem, for me at least, is that appearance. I wish I could assume positive intent, but it’s just so hard when I’ve been conditioned to believe politicians are charlatans, liars and opportunists.

I’m jaded.

Actions speak louder than words; unfortunately, the words have been so deafening over the last few months that it’s hard to ignore them in favour of the actions. I hope voters have more luck than me on this front. They have an important decision to make in just 6 short days, and based on what I’ve seen in the last few days, the choice is hardly clear…

~Mel