Coverage of 2008 political campaigns sometimes turns into a high school popularity contest
Did you know that according to guardian.co.uk more people voted in the American Idol contest than the last presidential election? The harsh truth is that reality TV brings our country together more than the 200-year-old democratic tradition of voting for our next president. After the last presidential race, many journalists and political commentators said that perhaps the secret to engaging Americans in politics is to make the elections more like reality TV.
Well, here we are in 2008, and those sarcastic remarks turned out to be more poignant than most would hope. The New York Times recently ran an article called, “Can Hillary Cry Her Way Back to the White House?” The title is in reference to Clinton’s tear-up after her victory in the New Hampshire primary. When Barack Obama snubbed Clinton at President Bush’s final State of the Union Address, it was more thoroughly covered by the media than the speech itself.
We are less than a year away from one of the most important elections in American history, and we’re still more interested in gossip and popularity than the political beliefs of the next potential leaders of the free world.
However, this reality TV approach to election coverage may be responsible for a drastic increase in political participation among young people. According tonewvotersproject.org,the youth vote more than tripled this year in the Iowa caucus and the Florida primary, and it increased by 25 percent in New Hampshire primary. Voters between the ages of 18 and 31 now represent a quarter of the electorate. But even though the increase in youth voting is a good thing, it’s a very slippery slope. If they’re only participating because this year’s election is like a reality TV show, then perhaps they will make misinformed and misguided choices.
We as young people must recognize the importance of keeping our heads above the pettiness and sensationalism of this year’s presidential election. Reports of “likeability” and superficial judgments of personality and appearance are the stuff network ratings are made of, but they have little relevance to the important choices voters will make this November. If we can separate the reality TV presentation of the election from the important underlying politics, young Americans will make a huge difference in the upcoming election, as well as the future of this country.
Contact Campus Press staff writer Emma Dessau at emma.dessau@colorado.edu.
