Second to none

When former Sen. Fred Thompson dropped out of the Republican presidential primary this past Tuesday, I hardly shed tears over his departure from the circle of White House hopefuls. Nonetheless, the death of another second-tier candidate’s campaign does speak to the exclusive nature of the American political scene.\nOver the past few months, Americans, or at least the politically literate minority, have had nearly continuous exposure to the top Democratic and Republican presidential nominee-seekers. National papers keep Hillary, Obama, Edwards, Romney, Giuliani and Huckabee on their front pages, documenting every poll measuring change in the candidate’s popularity, while prominent newsmagazines have picked apart “the essence” of these politicians and their strategy to gain both their parties’ nominations and the Oval Office.\nOne could argue that this media exposure to a select number of candidates best acquaints the public with those candidates most likely to win the nomination. Such might not be a bad practice if our objective as press was to usher in another president familiar with the political fundraising scene, which even the chairman of the Federal Election Commission, Michael Toner, has acknowledged will make or break “a serious candidate.”\nIn spite of a lack of serious contention for their party’s nomination, secondary candidates’ serious messages serve to foster valuable dialogue in our nation’s political life.\nAmong other propositions, Democratic hopeful Dennis Kucinich, who won a mere 1.4 percent of the vote in New Hampshire and zero percent in Iowa, suggested in the CNN/YouTube debate that he would create a Department of Peace if he were elected to the presidency and that the U.S. government should issue reparations to the descendants of slaves. Fellow Democrat Mike Gravel defines one of his core issues as support for the National Initiative for Democracy, a measure designed to “restore” democratic populism to the U.S.. Who has recently heard such atypical ideas coming from mainstream candidates?\nMany lesser candidates who have since dropped out of the race have some of the most extensive resumes to reinforce their campaigns. Sen. Joe Biden was elected to his office at the age of 29 and has served the state of Delaware. Governor of New Mexico Bill Richardson has extensive experience in mediating crisis situations in Africa and served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under President Clinton.\nBut after pouring over resumes, we have to ask whether such unique perspectives would truly create a better face for the American presidency.\nAs invaluable and stimulating as the role of these candidates is to debate and to the race itself, it does not mirror the realities of the office for which the candidates are competing. Successful presidents today are tasked with building coalitions between parties in Congress to ensure the passage of necessary legislation. \nRegardless, the remaining second tier candidates’ faith in democracy and devotion to important causes will continue to flavor this year’s political scene.