Presidental Canidates missing the boat

Watching a recent news show with Presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton as she sat down one on one with a family Puerto Rico, I have to wonder how much of what is shown or done by any candidate is staged and preplanned. Consistently all the candidates are shown speaking one on one with voters on one subject matter or another. Yet, I have never heard a candidate voice opinions on Foreign Aid and those who believe it is utterly ridiculous in the state of our own countries economy that we are sending (even pleading in one recent case) economic aid to any country rather than our own.

I am not sure whether of not the candidates are missing an opportunity to connect with voters; rather that they avoid with all political savoy they can muster the real voters in public debates. To ask a candidate a real question about real issues facing many of the people in the country today would be astounding. Even the supposed town hall meetings seem to be staged allowing pro candidate voters into the meeting.

I would be amazed if any of the three remaining candidates have ever lived paycheck to paycheck trying to figure out how they are going to pay for the gas to get to work. Have ever cut their medication in half to make it last twice as long. Have ever faced foreclosure. Have ever faced a hate crime against them. Have ever wondered which bill to pay - rent or electricity. Have ever had to eat at a soup kitchen by absolute need and felt the humiliation of begging for assistance.

I would be amazed if any of the candidates have felt personal loss from war, AIDS, drug addiction or homelessness. I doubt that any know the personal feeling of home loss through natural disaster or foreclosure.

Are they missing an opportunity? No, in my opinion they run from the opportunity because they are not pretty pictures to see, pretty words to hear, or pretty emotions to feel. I do not think that they are missing an opportunity, I believe that they are running just as fast as they can from the opportunity.

Today, the elections are not about issues or opportunities to connect with the average voter. The elections are about media frenzy opportunities. They are about popularity contest. They are about money. They are about mud slinging and party politics.

The candidates in the 2008 elections are no different than previous candidates. They are political fund raisers who speak from a party platform.