Strategy Versus Reality

There’s an interesting article over at Time magazine about Barak Obama’s 50 state strategy to win the election.  In a nutshell, it says that by campaigning in all 50 states Obama has made the case that everyone and every vote counts.  But as the election draws near, time and money become increasingly more dear, and every candidate has to start thinking strategically about what States are most likely to be “in play”, and which States are critical to winning the election, therefore deserving of more time, money and boots on the ground.

Reality states that the candidate and his surrogates can’t be everywhere at once, and they have to make choices about how to spend their time and finances.  Strategy to win makes them think very carefully about how to spend those resources.

Strategy requires a game plan, and a calculation of how likely it is that a candidate has a State’s votes sewn up, essentially conceding the race to the other party before a single vote has been cast.

This may be a reality, but it annoys me to no end.

I don’t think there is a person in this Country who thinks their vote should be taken for granted as a done deal.  I am a person, with real thoughts and feelings and opinions on the issues facing our Country today.  I happen to live in a “battle ground” state, but I would be equally annoyed if I lived in a “slam dunk” state.  I simply don’t think anyone should be getting the message that their address may make their participation in this election irrelevant.

As a citizen, I am charged with a duty in November- to go vote, and submit my ballot, indicating who I think will best be able to lead this Country for the next four years.  I will only have two “realistic” choices.  I will choose one of them, but not without some hesitancy.

Maybe it’s the 24 hour news cycle.  Maybe it’s the Ghost of Karl Rove.  Maybe the strategy of elections has always been part of the mix, but it took place behind closed doors.  Now it takes place all day, every day, on each and every cable news show out there.  Who’s ahead?  Who’s behind? What should they do to get more votes?  How can they game the system better than ever before?   I feel like I am watching a football game, and all the news anchors are in the booth, second guessing the strategy of the coaches from above.  And I am getting more and more sick of it, despite the fact that the issues facing our country are more critical than ever.

John McCain and Sarah Palin, despite their mission statement to be straight talkers and mavericks, have given some of the most “content-free” speeches I have seen as of late.  McCain is incredibly reactionary to news, and seems unable to take a moment to reflect or to say “The situation is rapidly changing and I don’t have enough information right this second to give you a definitive answer- let’s talk in a few hours when I have more information to go on.”  I have a hard time trusting someone who is unwilling to think before he acts.  I also have a hard time trusting someone like McCain who is clearly ready to do anything to win this election- the election, this year more than ever, is not a giant game of Risk or Monopoly, nor is it Trivial Pursuit. (Choose your Board Game of Choice)

This Country needs to come together, NOW.  The politicians need to stop dividing us up and encouraging polarization of view points. We need them to acknowledge what I hope people take away from Obama and Biden’s 50 state strategy- that everyone counts.  Everyone and their vote is valuable.  And everyone is probably not dogmatic and ideological to the extreme, but sit in the center of the curve, thinking and deciding based on who they trust- who tells the truth, who thinks things out, who will be able to bring us together, rather than focus on dividing us apart.

Extremism- fostering fear and distrust- may win elections, and make it easier for people to distinguish you from the next guy.  But the day after the election, and after being sworn into office come January, the President will have to lead all of us towards common goals, and inspire all of us to help each other achieve those goals, even if some of the steps along the way cause temporary discomfort.  No one said this would be easy.

I trust Joe Biden, because he told us the truth the other day- in order to solve the financial crisis, we may have to pay more taxes.  That is simply reality, and in our heart of hearts, we know this. not easy to say, not easy to hear, but a reality, none the less.

And I hope Americans are grown-up enough to realize that turth is preferable to fiction. Heck, the $7.0 Billion bailout of bankers on Wall Street equals  $7,000 for every man woman and child in the Country- that means the bill to my family alone, assuming no interest accrues as well, would be $28,000- that’s a nice new car, a ear of college tuition….all to save people who made crazy, silly bets on Wall Street.  I think not.

I don’t trust McCain, who insists if we cut taxes, somehow the Debt will go down.  In my budget, if I have less money, I can’t pay off my debts; if I have more money I can.  That’s called basic accounting and budgeting- like the kid I hope my kids will learn in eighth grade Home and Consumer Science.

In the aggregate, we are all just one more vote.  In the aggregate, voters are treated like commodities, or numbers on a roulette wheel.  Candidates have to decide how to spend their time and resources.  they need strategies.  They need strategies to deal with our problems as well.  And I really hope that strategy is about bringing us together, not dividing us apart with partisan politics and venom.  We deserve better than that.

Tags: barak obama, campaign finance, democrats, election, Joe Biden, john McCain, money, palin, politics, rality, reality, reform, republicans, sarah palin, strategy

Gender and Politics

One point I share with parents on all the time, (and I got this insight from the great Rick LaVoie), is to NEVER confuse Fair and Equal.  From Merriam Webster:

Equal: 1 a (1): of the same measure, quantity, amount, or number as another

Fair has many more defintions, but the important ones here are:

Fair: 5: ample <a fair estate

6 a: marked by impartiality and honesty : free from self-interest, prejudice, or favoritism <a very fair person to do business with> b (1): conforming with the established rules : allowed (2): consonant with merit or importance : due <a fair share>

Simply put, Equal means everyone gets the same, and Fair means everyone should get what the need or deserve.  Things canbe both fair and equal, but frequently they can be either/or, not both, simultaneously.

When we talk about things like gender, we are talking about something that naturally divides people into two categories.  It’s something we can’t do anything about.  Is that fair? Yup.  Is it equal?  No.

Women always have a different part to play in life, because they are capable and frequently do have children.  We can’t outrun or circumvent biology.  As a result, women have certain issues men will never have- Do I get adequate pregnancy leave at work?  If I want to nurse my baby, how do I do that and meet all the requirements they have for me at work?  If I have an unplanned pregnancy, what decision will I make?  All of these decisions are inherent to being a woman.  It doesn’t mean men can’t have feelings or opinions about them, but in the end, the person who is carrying the child has to take responsibility for it.

Notice how we always know who the mother of a baby is, but the paternity can be called into question. It goes like this- one person comes into the hospital, two people come out.  We know for sure who the mother is.  Basic biology.   This is another issue, unique to women.  There aren’t a whole lot of Maternity Suits out there, searching for the unknown mother of a child, to hold them fiscally liable for the child’s expenses.  That would be silly, and unnecessary, since we “register” each new baby by issuing a State birth certificate and now even a social security number, before the baby leaves the hospital.  Except in rare cases of home births and child abandonment, we always know who the Mom is.

So How Does This Gender Difference Affect Politics? Should it?

When women have struggled for equal pay for doing the same job, that is an argument that is about both Fair and Equal.  If both people have the same experience -exactly-, the same education, and the same job, and are performing it equally well, they should be paid the same wage.   Fair and Equal.  If the woman is out of the office more because she has a baby,  her kids are sick, or she is caring for elderly parents, or whatever reason- should this be reflected in her job?  Her job review?

Many working moms watch their sick days and vacation days like a hawk, because they know, sometime during the year, a kid is going to get sick- hopefully not with anything that is like chicken pox, requiring a week or so out of school and thus out of work as well-and if they exceed the maximum number of days they can use, they risk being fired.  Taking a day off to attend a school play or teacher’s meeting?  Great- but you pay for that down the line without a vacation day left for when the child gets sick, you get sick yourself, or you actually want to get away and have a vacation.

Sure, working dads have the same issues.  But in most families, the reality is that when a child is sick or there is an issue at school, 90% of the time it’s the mom who goes in and takes care of the problem.  That may not be equal, and it may not be fair, but it is reality.

Even my husband, a physician, has avoided taking off more than a few hours when we’ve needed him at school meetings, or I have been out of town on business.  It doesn’t ever occur to him to take a sick day or a vacation day-in fact, he’ll sooner have a relative come and help with the kids if I am out of town for an extended period than take a week off of work and use vacation time for child care duties.  And I am perfectly okay with that, and don’t feel it’s a sexist issue at all- I look at it as triaging the situation, and know his patients need him, and this is a high enough need that taking a day off  “because he feels like it” is not part of his nature.    Patients come first.   I get that, and that is part of our family contract, so to speak.  (And I hope all of you out there appreciate that too- you do, and should, come first to your health care provider, often before his own family.)

I doubt this is unusual in most families, even those without wage earners with “important” life or death kind of jobs.  We can argue fairness, equality, and sexism, but reality is  this is the way the world works, liberal or conservative.  Women have a larger share of child care issues, in part because she is the mom, period.  Dads participate and it’s wonderful, but few dads are the sole and primary caretakers of their kids.  Reality, not sexism.

And this means, as a result of my gender, as a result of being a Mom, I see what happens at our local schools more than my husband.  I know the Teachers and Administrators.  I know my child’s physicians. I also know the other parents, my kid’s friends and their parents, and I am the social hub of the family as a result.  Education is a big political issue, and while we all want a good education for our kids, I would imagine most Moms have a better sense of what is happening in the school than Dads, at least 8 out of every 10 times.

There are very few dads on most PTA and PTO committees.  Dads may sit on the school board, but few are out there baking cookies for bake sales and setting up the book fair, independently of their spouse.  Just the facts- gender plays a role, but it doesn’t make it a sex discrimination or sexist issue.

Gender in the Election

When I hear people complaining that Sarah Palin is being treated differently than a man, I answer- “You Bet!  Because she is a woman!  And that is perfectly normal and ok!”

Being a woman doesn’t make Palin any less of a politician, nor does it make her a better one, either.  It doesn’t make her more or less competent as an executive or administrator.  And her husband could be an example for men all over the Country, on how to have a spouse in national politics, and be a role model for stay at home dads.  That’s fantastic and I applaud this.

But I think we do ourselves a disservice if we say we need to factor out gender from politics; that “we would never say that or ask that question if she were a man”.  If women want to play on an even playing field, then they need to compete on the same playing field as men and be okay with it.  They have to be comfortable with their gender and all the questions- good, bad, indifferent, and even the nasty questions that might be asked.  If male politicians can be hounded and examined for every woman they have ever taken out for dinner, women politicians should undego the same scrutiny and be asked if they ever use their gender for their advantage.

Gender does matter, and I think it’s silly to think it isn’t a factor in the election or in politics.  Of course it is.  Some day, maybe it truly won’t matter.  But it does now.  And we shouldl feel very free to discuss it, without apologizing for doing so.

Tags: education, equal, fair, gender, john McCain, palin, poltics, rick lavoie, srah palin, stay at home dad, stay at home mom, vice president, VP