SPEAK CAREFULLY AND DUCK THE BIG STICK

Consider politicians choosing words in the midst of an interview, especially when being questioned by a local-market Cronkite wannabe. Or even a grizzled officeholder speaking off the cuff. Some mistakes will be made.

Todd Akin, GOP senatorial candidate in Missouri, put his foot in it in a radio interview, speaking of “legitimate rape.” Forget cogent arguments about the substance of the spoken error. No judgment here regarding the right or wrong of his argument. There can be no misunderstanding that he did use the wrong adjective. Let us just look at the consequences of similar misspeaking in the past. No need to list many, for it happens all the time, and – it seems – most often to Republicans. There was George Allen and his calling a planted heckler a name his mother picked up in the Caribbean. There was Dan Quayle and his failure to correct a school flashcard that misspelled potato. Oh, yes, Joe Biden recently spoke of chains in a way that some said was connected to slavery. And President Obama said of entrepreneurs that “they didn’t build that.” The latter two examples seemed to be scripted.

Leave aside that Republicans were more concerned about Akin’s words because Democrats thought the error made it easier for their incumbent to prevail. The point is that the “gotcha” game can impede open discussion of real issues, thus oversimplifying elections and encouraging candidates to adhere slavishly to talking points.

So, can we return to the day of Lincoln-Douglas debates to inform the electorate? Never, it must be supposed, in a time of fast foods and drive-in banking and 10-second sound bites.

Somehow, citizens should hope that they can have – and work for – political and public policy presentations that inform audiences about the true feelings and desires of candidates. Unneeded are bumper sticker length campaigns that appeal to guts rather than to brains. The same goes for TV ads.

Maybe levelheaded citizens that care enough can influence political discourse, guiding it toward beneficial arguments and away from rancor. The republic’s future could depend on such basic intelligence.