Is It November Already?

Is It November Already?
by Nathan Poole, Columnist

June 24, 2002

Contributor Nathan Poole I seem to have fallen quite a bit behind, and now I have a ton of work to get done. I have to store the mower away, rake the leaves, and pull my wetsuit out of the garage. I have some fall cleaning to do around the house, I have to winterize my car (you know, put the heating pad in the driver's seat), and I have to catch up on all the football I seem to have missed (I sure hope John Madden does a better job than Dennis "Bozo" Miller did). Those of you living in colder climates might want to think about dusting off your snow shovel or your snow blower or your snowplow or whatever it is that you use to remove that pesky white stuff from your driveways and sidewalks.

What's that you say? It's only June, you say? Winter isn't quite on its way yet? Are you saying that it isn't November already?

Nonsense! It must be November, or at least late October. President Bush has attended more tea parties than Queen Elizabeth herself. I read that in Texas, one Latino candidate for Congress is charging that the other Latino candidate (a Republican incumbent, of course) is no longer in touch with his constituents (most of whom are, you guessed it, Latino). And in California - the state my wife makes me call home - the two candidates for governor have already raised almost double what was spent in the 1998 election.

Are you still not convinced that it's November? Well, hang on to your insulated hats. I just saw the first negative campaign ad for the fall election season. That's right, it appears that the gloves are finally off. Each election season, just about every candidate in every type of election vows to keep away from mudslinging (or, to be perfectly politically correct, negative campaigning). It usually lasts for just a brief moment, and then one or both of the very honorable gentlemen (or ladies) breaks his or her promise and then the proverbial mud begins to fly.

Again, I know that this usually happens in June, July, or August, but this year was supposed to be different. We Americans were supposed to be in love with one another after the terrorist attacks of last September. We were supposed to put aside our personal and petty differences to live more fulfilling and peaceful lives. We were supposed to turn our energies toward staying vigilant and not allowing our foreign enemies to strike us again. This year was supposed to be different.

But, unless it's early November, then this year our politicians have behaved no differently than they have in any other year. Unless it's early November, our politicians have remained unmoved and unchanged by the terrible attacks against our nation.

But it isn't November, is it? I did indeed see an ad paid for by the campaign to reelect the great California Governor Gray Davis attack Republican challenger Bill Simon by claiming that he had to have his failed S & L bailed out by the Federal government. If Bill Simon failed at business, the ad was saying, then he will fail as your governor. And I've seen ads pointing out how Governor Gray Davis used taxpayer dollars (most of which were allocated for education, but that's another column for another time) to pay for his bungling of California's energy crisis (which many people believe that he created himself, but this is also another column for another time).

I am not saying that these ads, while extremely negative, are not also true. What I am saying, however, is that when these politicians begin attacking each other in these ways, it takes the voters' focus off of the important issues and turns our election process into just another Jerry Springer episode. Americans deserve better than to have candidates from these two parties attack each other relentlessly at the expense of the issues that the voters care about.

I, for one, am sick of it…and it's not even November yet. ***

A native of San Antonio, Texas and a veteran of the United States Air Force, Nathan Poole is employed by the United States Postal Service. He lives in Irwindale, California with his wife and family.

Photo of the author courtesy of staff files