Endorsements, endorsements, who has the endorsements?
As the caucuses and primaries continue and “Super Tuesday” draws ever closer the remaining presidential candidates continue to debate, rally and woo us in an attempt to win our votes. Along the way they pick up endorsements from newspapers, celebrities, fellow politicians and others. Ted and Caroline Kennedy have endorsed Barack Obama. Bobby Kennedy Jr. and NY Daily News endorsed Hillary Clinton. Chuck Norris endorsed Mike Huckabee. The New York Post endorsed John McCain. And so on, and so on, and so on.
On a message board I sometimes visit the cries will go out from time to time–”So and so endorsed my candidate!”. This will be followed by supporters of that candidate rushing to express their adulation, and detractors attempting to tear down both the candidate and the endorser. The same is true for the opposite side. This bizarre dance is repeated each time a new endorsement is announced.
I’m afraid I don’t quite grasp the fascination with endorsements myself. When I decide for whom to vote I do it based on the candidates platform, merits, behaviors and other qualifications. I want to know what they are going to do for me, the country and the world, and how. How many friends they have on their MySpace page, so to speak, doesn’t factor into the equation.
Are people afraid to think for themselves, or to let others think for themselves? Is that what we’ve come to–that we need to rely on the endorsements of others to determine who we vote for? Will we let celebrities, newspapers and the like make our decisions for us?
I’m open to the possibility that I’m missing something here, of course, and I’m willing to entertain discussion on the matter.
Tags: Political endorsements
