Politics as usual

Typewriter Tales

It’s that time again. The water coolers are buzzing. The nation is talking. It’s a rare event, and it deserves some kind of attention.

That’s right: It’s my birthday. The big two-five. I don’t know why everyone is so focused on this McCain-Obama thing when there’s a more important story — the fact that in just one week, Oct. 8, I will officially be “over the hill.” I know that probably seems very young to many of you, but remember what it felt like to be my age. It’s a huge deal. A world-shaking, headline-making moment.

Oh, and, of course, there’s that presidential election thing going on.

November is knocking and, if you’re like me, you’re fumbling for your voter registration card. Do I even have a voter registration card? I’m from Oregon, and I’m still getting the knack of two things: pumping my own gas and getting my own ballot. There, they mail your ballot to you. You have a long, leisurely time to study it. You have a state-provided voter-registration guide that explains the ins and outs of every constitutional amendment and political candidate. They even use the kind of scan-trons that read pens, so you don’t have to track down a No. 2 pencil. Why do they bother to make any other kind, anyway?

My first attempt at voting in a booth resulted in claustrophobia and me missing a bond issue after I forgot to turn over the ballot. Goes to show, even intelligent, politically-aware people can do very stupid things. Deadline night and voting just shouldn’t mix.

Luckily, there are plenty of people who understand the system better than I do who are willing to help. On page 18 in this week’s paper you’ll find a short set of instructions on how to vote, absentee or otherwise. Voting, and more importantly, knowing about the candidates is a civic duty. It helps keep the government honest and, while individual votes rarely make a difference on a national scale, local elections are frequently determined by a handful of people. Especially in rural counties, like this one.

We’ll see if I practice what I preach. The journalism teacher who taught me the most in college told me she believed journalists should never vote. When you vote, she reasoned, you develop a psychological attachment to a person. You want them to succeed — otherwise, you have to admit that you made a mistake by voting for them. Subconsciously, you’re less likely to ask the hard questions. Lose your objectivity by an inch, and you’re failing your readers.

Obviously, not everyone agrees with this. Just look at the bumper stickers on my reporters’ cars. The other side of the argument is that reporters know more about politics than most people, so logically, they’re probably more likely to elect good candidates. Besides, fighting for objectivity is a losing battle anyway — nobody can ever be 100 percent impartial. Isn’t it better to be honest with your biases than try to hide behind the mantle of press neutrality?

Not that I can reveal my biases, because I don’t know most of them, myself. Though I was a firebrand liberal in college who was noted for base demagoguery, now national politics tire me. It’s just an exchange of catch-phrases. CNN throws two crazy people, one left-wing peacenik, one right-wing fascist, in front of microphone and claims to be covering all sides of the issue. Where’s the seat for professional cynics? Who’s speaking out for the disenchanted disciples who see hypocrisy on all sides and are sick of milquetoast speeches by politicians whose goal is not to say something right, but to say nothing wrong?

This is the point where my friends kick me and tell me I’m thinking too much. Better to spend time thinking about the candidates and the issues.

So, let’s think about the candidates and the issues — this is the editor’s official call for statements from local candidates. Anyone running for any office in local or state government is welcome to submit a 500-word statement to the Valley Press/Mineral Independent. Only local candidates, please — there are plenty of other newspapers and media outlets covering statewide elections, but no one else can do as good job as the local papers of covering local issues. We will print the statements in the last few weeks before the election, either in the order we receive them or side-by-side with their opponents, depending on who sends what, when. Our last issue before the elections comes out October 29, so the last, possible moment to get your statement to me is Monday, Oct. 27 at noon. If it lands on my desk at 12:01 p.m., be sure that it will not run in the paper. Absolutely no exceptions. Mail them to me at P.O. Box 667, Plains, MT 59859, fax them to us at 826-5577 or, if you want to save me the finger strain of typing these up myself, e-mail them to me at jmcbride@vp-mi.com

It’s the candidate’s choice when it comes to subject matter, but here’s some questions to get pens scratching: Why are you seeking office? What are some of the biggest challenges facing the area, and what you will do to meet them? What qualifies you for the position? What are some of your past achievements? What are your ties to the community?

Just because I give you 500 words doesn’t mean you have to use them. Brevity is, after all, the soul of wit. We reserve the right to edit statements for libel, obscenity yadda, yadda, but you should be sure to click spell check, because I’m not going to be editing anything for grammar or spelling. I figure it’s the voters’ right to know if you can’t spell the word “democracy.”

Other housekeeping issues: Be sure to play nice when it comes to letters to the editor. Public discussion is great, but keep it civil. So far, all the opinion writers have done a great job of playing nice. Keep it up.

We won’t be running any letters critical of candidates after the Oct. 22 issue because there won’t have the chance to respond before the election. Throughout October, we won’t be accepting letters from candidates, campaign managers, or their immediate families. This week’s column from Jim Elliott is the last politician’s column we will be running until after the election. We won’t run political letters from people out of the area, unless they specifically tell me they have local ties or are subscribers — you wouldn’t believe how many spam letters I get from folks across the nation e-mailing every single newspaper in the universe. We only guarantee that we’ll run one letter per author per month. Additional letters will only be run if we have the space. The letters deadline is noon Fridays if it comes by mail, fax, or if you drop it by our office or noon Monday if it’s e-mailed. It’s always safest to call and make sure I received something. I think we have a gremlin in the office that enjoys mangling anything electronic.

By the way, there is one personal disclosure I am willing to commit to paper: This is the last time I’m going to mention my real age. For the rest of my life, if anyone asks, I intend to say I’m 22. Think they’ll believe me when I’m 78? Oh well. Politicians aren’t the only ones who get to exaggerate.