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OPINION: Spending obscene on electionTARBORO, Nov 05, 2012 (The Daily Southerner - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Tuesday is election day in the United States and her territories. Even though we have been voting for the last 10 or so days in some states, the first Tuesday in November is when Americans go to the polls and elect our nation's leaders. Not meaning to offend supporters of one candidate or another, but this campaign has generated an obscene amount of spending on political advertising. Obscene! As of Friday, the two major candidates and the outside interests that support them, have spent $1,057,276,151 on television advertising alone. On top of that, include the print media, the internet and mobile media and the radio. A total of $130 million was spent in Ohio, Virginia, Florida, Nevada and Wisconsin alone last week! How many homeless could that house How many homes could it heat so that a child doesn't go to bed cold tonight What could we do with more than $1 billion in attacking anything -- as long as we don't mishandling like Washington is so adept at doing For a number of years now, I've felt as if the people could givern this land much better than many of these yahoos -- Democrat and Republican alike -- that we send to Washington. When we were kids we called our own balls and strikes, and did a pretty good job. We called our own fouls when we played pick-up basketball games, and did a pretty good job. I'm not so sure we couldn't do a pretty good job at making the calls in Washington, too. The problem is the fact we no longer have citizen politicians. Sadly enough, there's no more room in Washington for a Jefferson Smith -- but's plenty of backroom wheeling and it's all done on our nickle. And that's why I think we the people could do better -- certainly no worse -- than those who have come to think of their elected office as their "right." If fact, I'd have difficulty in separating them from Mitt Romney's 47 percent who feel they are entitled. We the people could do a better job as long as the focus remained on the fact it is our money we are spending, along with the realization that instead of building a power base, we are working for the common good. Yes, help when help is needed and when it is due. Take care of our young and our elderly, for they are our history, our future and our legacy ... but a hand up is so much more effective -- and productive -- than a hand out. Unless a few chads hang up someplace, we are no more than hours away from learning the outcome of this hotly contested race and the hope that the next four years are better than the last. -- -- -- On election night, the staff of the Daily Southerner will report to work a bit later and remain a bit longer in hopes of being able to give you the national outcome. Yes, we know you'll get it from television and the internet before we can hit the street, but we hope to be able to give you a souvenir of this costly race to lead our nation. (John H. Walker is editor and publisher of The Daily Southerner. He can be reached at 823-3106 or [email protected].) ___ (c)2012 The Daily Southerner (Tarboro, N.C.) Visit The Daily Southerner (Tarboro, N.C.) at www.dailysoutherner.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |