John and Barack's Great Adventure: Class or More of The Same

A young man I know, wise beyond his years, asked me for help with a political opinion piece, back in the dark days of January. This recent Harvard grad, now enrolled in medical school at Columbia, wanted to publish an essay about his picks for the Republican and Democratic primaries. He identified the two candidates he thought would best serve the country by running a different kind of campaign, based on issues leading to a meaningful election.

His observations and insight into why the two he had in mind would run a clean campaign were refreshing. Imagine real issues being discussed, he argued, and the personal attacks of the last two plus decades being replaced by reasoned discourse and Lincoln-Douglas style debates.

Although he submitted the piece to several newspapers and online sites for publication nobody picked it up. It turns out that he was more prescient than the professional political pundits who make their livings writing about presidential elections—at least as far as predicting the nominees. He got it right. The voters chose John McCain and Barack Obama, two men most likely to be headed for the high road, our young friend believed.

Now it seems, the candidates’ handlers are at it again, most notably McCain’s campaign boss, Steve Schmidt, a Karl Rove protégé. The sad spectacle of personal attacks will only succeed if we—the voters—let it succeed. As our young observer sensed, before any votes were cast, the public wants a different type of campaign, this time. In last week’s Newsweek (click here for the column), Jonathan Alter offers some insight into candidate McCain’s discomfort with the negative attack strategy, Schmidt is promoting. Obama has also been lured into negativity but not with such clumsy and uncomfortable effect.

We have a chance for something different. Don’t let the Karl Roves of the world rule the day. Demand that the candidates, who were chosen by us—the voters—resist the advice and conventional wisdom that says negative attacks will get them elected, but in reality will damage their own legacies and our futures. And if you’re one of our friends in the media, don’t be complicit. Demand real dialogue that will help us decide who best can lead.