A Moment of Truth

Debates, conventions, speeches, Web pages — the American people have all the resources necessary to become educated on presidential candidate’s stances, but, in the end, voters are just looking for an emotional connection, a moment of truth.

We cannot find truth in words read from a teleprompter, sponsored Web sites with dropdown "issues" menus or staged debates run by money-driven media corporations. So, we look for a show of true emotions, something tangible about the candidate that will allow us to connect on a level greater than political promises and bureaucrat-speak.

We have become cynics of the political process.

President George W. Bush taught us that issues a politician stands for during an election are general guidelines that may or may not be followed later. In essence, they are there to manipulate votes from us.

The key to winning is to stay vague enough that the American people will interpret the words to fit their individual likings. Bush’s bumbling speeches made us think that perhaps he agreed with us, but wasn’t eloquent enough to get it across.

We forgave him too often and we have suffered for it.

Now, we look for something, some x-factor in the primary candidates to show us that the person on the television can rule our country, defend our interests and represent our failing name in a positive light throughout the world.

In New Hampshire, plastic coated Hillary Clinton melted in the heat of the moment. All of her enthusiastic speeches and argumentative screeches could not do what a moment of truth did for her campaign.

In the eyes of some voters, her show of emotion was the event that brought them to her side. They needed something they could relate to that speech-writers and campaign managers could not control.

The deeper emotions reassured them that Clinton might actually follow through with all the words and plans she had been trying so hard to get across.

"Obama is so charismatic!" is the buzz on the streets. Barack Obama hit on our desire for change. Many of the American people want whatever the polar opposite of Bush is.

Obama’s stance and speech are eloquent. He fills the American heart with a yearning for the days when we were strong and respected in the world. He embodies the strength of a ruler and the strength of this nation.

We are tired of being humiliated. We are not a nation of bumble-brains and we want to be represented, once more, with dignity and honor. 

However, Obama’s dignity is accompanied with a level of aloofness and superiority. His Harvard degree is appealing to the upper-middle class voters but the common man has not warmed to this eloquent politician.

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney thought his Crest Whitestrips smile and millions of dollars could win the American people, but he is losing ground.

Romney and Sen. John Edwards are both endowed with the physique, the experience and the funds; yet, neither has demonstrated the essential glimmer of truth.

Their spotless facades are impenetrable and distrusted. Edwards cannot stake his career on the humanity of his wife. Romney cannot shed the cloak of his secret society.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’s win in Iowa must be partially attributed to his strong Evangelical Christian stance; however, informed voters who looked at his record probably did not vote for him.

It is his personality and humor, even his bass guitar that came across as genuine and carried him through the Iowa Caucus. He is a man the American people would have a beer with.

Ron Paul is reminiscent of our grandfather or friendly economics teachers. He is the only candidate who is running based on ideology.

Paul is not the best speaker, he does not have a moving presence and he will not win the primaries. Yet, voters from both sides of the political spectrum are drawn to his message because they can believe it. He has proven to them through three decades of consistent voting records that he means what he says and, for them, that is powerful.

Arizona Sen. John McCain is becoming an appealing candidate. He does not spare words and polish his sentences, or his hair for that matter. His open personality and lack of guile are refreshing.  

Voters feel they are getting the real person and, if that’s him, maybe he will follow through on the issues he has raised as well.

We have been invaded and abandoned by the federal government over the past few years. Our emotions and privacy have been raped by this administration. We do not want the Patriot Act. We do not want our jobs sent overseas, our currency made worthless and the lives of our children treated as insignificant casualties abroad.

We are tired of politicians pandering and pinching to find out what we want through polling.  We do not want to be manipulated, used or looked down upon. We just want the truth and to be respected as individuals with minds which are as capable as the politicians’ and whose dreams are as big.

There are many dangers in choosing a president based on emotions; but our discernment of character is one of the few tools we have left. How can you reason over issues that will change tomorrow or questions that never get a solid "yes" or "no" answer?

We want a sign to reassure us that our decision is correct.