Lawyers in Politics

Since politics seems to be in the air currently on this blog, allow me to posit the following:

• Wouldn't it make more sense if politicians (legislators/congress folks mostly) had shorter careers and then went in to the field of law afterward, rather than studying law in order to become a politician? I think it would make our laws easier to understand, plus the ex-pol lawyers would be able to say, "I wrote that law Mr./Mrs. Judge, I think I know how it's supposed to be interpreted."

I suppose I'm biased on the subject though, because I've always thought politicians should limit their terms. I think the upside would be decreased corruption and a more involved public (because we'd need to fill the vacancies). Possible downsides include less effective legislation and oversight.

Well, I'm posting yet another commentary written by Glenn Beck, partly because I like his over-the-top way of covering this next issue, and partly because Kiel kind of doesn't :)

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/23/beck.obama.media/index.html

The editorial facetiously describes the unequal amount of media coverage Obama has been receiving recently, compared to McCain. This has been a topic of interest in the last couple months, not just to my friend Mr. Beck and me, but also to some other bloggers I've read.

An interesting point that this and other commenataries have made is that coverage of Obama sells. In the linked article, Beck talks about magazines with Obama on the cover selling. In another source I read, Access Hollywood showed enormous ratings hikes (20-30% increases in some demographics) for the week it aired it's Obama interviews.

I think Barak Obama is easily the most exciting presidential candidate that we have experienced. Although I don't necessarily agree with parts of his platform, he could probably win my vote by flashing me that pretty smile and saying something charismatic in his smooth baritone voice.

Glenn Beck's rediculous editorial aside, it does seem like the media is showing Obama's face (and maybe not his political face...) more often than McCain's. Is this to sell more media and rake in the profit, or has the media already declared Obama the next President? [I know, a bold statement, but maybe it'll stir up some ideas... :) ]

**I'VE UPDATED THE LINK TO THE CORRECT ARTICLE**

Here's a link to a commentary found on CNN.com:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/17/beck.che.guevara/index.html?iref=24hours

I found this commentary interesting, as it was a topic of conversation earlier this summer. It points out the absurdity of people in the US wearing Che Guevera t-shirts, trying to show how left and revolutionary their mindset is.

I'll leave it up to y'all to check it out.