Jaded

The moment O'Connor announced her intention to resign her seat on the Supreme Court, both the right wing and left wing machines seem to have swung into full fledged action. NYT had an article on the huge sums of money organizations on either side of the political divide have raised to influence the choice of the next member of the Supreme court.

Every Supreme court justice choice is an important one and this is perhaps more so than others. The country rests on a sharp political edge and if the results of the last two presidential elections are any indication it is tilted slightly to the right. With a conservative majority, decisions that have stood for the better part of a quarter century like abortion and affirmative action may be overturned. So passions are understandably high and the debate hot.

Yet I find myself avoiding the political gabfests that I once tuned into quite frequently. The endless barrage of spokesmen parroting their party's line becomes tiring. Pundits stare into the future and offer predictions that are comic. It is all very nauseating.

Political parties have come to function like sport teams. It is all about winning. Coming in second is not an option. I think it is sad when sport metaphors aptly describe political discourse. For the moment, I am one jaded spectator of this political season.