What if the American presidential elections were held in the same manner as the TV show, American Idol? We could start with, say, 100 candidates and then when we work our way down to the top 24 the publicly voted eliminations begin. Once a week there can be a TV show during which each candidate gets 12 minutes to give a speech and be presidential. Then for two hours after the show everyone can vote for their candidate as many times as they wish. The two candidates with the least votes are eliminated until the field shrinks to 10, at which point one candidate is eliminated each week until there is only one left and that final candidate would become president. (And get a free Ford Mustang.) Oh, and the runner up could be vice-president.
During the final 10 weeks the candidates could occasionally do little numbers together so we could see how they work with others. On some weeks the candidates could give speeches on whatever they want but on other weeks they would have to talk about certain issues. On certain weeks we could bring in past presidents to help the candidates out in their presentations.
Am I completely, thoroughly, and totally nuts? Have I flipped my lid? Or could there possibly be some merit to this wacky idea? What would be the benefits? And what are the pitfalls? Does this method seem unfair? (If so, how does that make American Idol unfair?)
Think about it: The candidates wouldn't be allowed to advertise at all. The only way they can get their ideas across is to be on the show. They would have no campaign chests. This would save hundreds of millions of dollars. There would be no fundraisers, no primaries, no campaign staffs, no stumping. The candidates would have to put all their time and effort into those 12 minute spots on the show. They would not be beholden to any big buck sponsor. They would have to rely only on themselves and the messages they put forth. And their presentations would have to convey sincerity, honesty, wisdom, integrity, and "presidential-ness" to get the votes of those American viewers. They would have to compete against the other candidates but not directly. Instead of fighting the other candidates, the competition would involve being better than the others. The candidates would be forced to focus on and communicate directly with the potential voters rather than facing other candidates and lobbing stones.
Any slight slip-up could land you in the bottom two. You have to be your very best each and every week. And you have to get better with each week. You have to make the most amount of people love you and believe you. You have to win their hearts. Win a viewer's heart and they'll vote for you a hundred twenty-nine times.
Ah, did I hit the nail on the head? Is that the problem with this idea? That it violates the sacred one person/one vote aspect of our idea of democracy? But wait a minute. That one person/one vote aspect doesn't even count in our real presidential elections. As we have seen, the popular vote does not count! It's the electoral vote that decides who the president will be. And in the electoral system all votes are not equal. So what's the problem with allowing everyone to vote as many times as they can during two hours? As long as we can verify that each telephone vote was from a person and not a computer program then every human could decide for themselves how much their votes count by how many times they call in their votes during those two hours. And wouldn't you rather vote from the comfort of your couch than waiting in line for two hours at the polls? And there would be no problem with hanging chads!
Man, I think I'm on to something here. Doesn't this sound like a great idea? Think of all this would change. The whole process would be radically different. Maybe people will even get into it more. This method seems to do away with a lot of the nastiness and waste of our current election process which turns so many people off. Would this be a way of getting away from that awful two-party system that keeps everything so polarized?
Okay, I just got a brief image of Sanjaya as president. That's a little scary. I'm sure there may be a problem or two with this idea. And what about the three judges? Who will they be? And who will host the show?
Furthermore, everyone would have to be off work for four hours one day each week; two hours for the show and two hours for voting. The country would have to shut down so everyone could watch the show and vote. That might not be such a bad idea. Of course, we'd have to deal with those infernal time zones. And there's the problem of determining a caller's age. Or should we just let anyone and everyone vote?
Oh, and I just thought of another good thing. The money from advertising during the show could go to pay off our national debt. If the show becomes as popular as American Idol the advertising dollars could be significant.
So what does everyone think? Have I misplaced my marbles? Have I gone batty? Have I stepped off the precipice of logic and reason into the abyss of lunacy?
Copyright © 2007, by White Feather. All Rights Reserved.
Labels: Ramblings
