Politics: What a Gaffe!

What is a gaffe and why are they so important to an election campaign?

I try not to get too political or to side too much with one party or another both on this blog and also in my life in general. I am not a big fan of political parties and I feel like - especially as of late - they're tearing our country apart. So I try to form an opinion for each issue instead of siding with one party or another and then just agreeing with everything they say. This is also a reason why I don't like organized religion. I am not one for the "sheep" mentality and I don't like being pressured to agree with everything a group says or does.

But something I heard on the Daily Show last night made me take a step back and decide to write an entry about politics. Before last night, I had no idea what a "gaffe" even was, let alone the social and political ramifications of such a thing.

The internet says a gaffe is this: "An unintentional act or remark causing embarrassment to its originator; a blunder: 'an unforgivable social gaffe'".

I'm sure each and every one of us has committed such a mistake at least once in our lives. (I seem to do it at least 3 times a day) We all get away with it with little to no consequences - unless you count wounded pride as a consequence. But what if - every time we made such a blunder - our job was at risk? But it isn't just a job as we see it, it's a way of life, it's how you define yourself. What if you put all that at risk every time you accidentally understated something or every time you made a joke that one person in Oklahoma thought was distasteful? If it were me, I'd stop saying things all together and go find a nice rock to hide under.

Barack Obama, who is steadily creeping toward the bottom in popularity these days, has to think about that every time he answers a question publicly, every time he makes a speech, every time he sets foot outside the White House. Before he utters a word to anyone he has to think, 'is what I'm about to say going to ruin my chances of keeping my job?' 

Being the president is a popularity contest. And lately, it's less about what you do and more about what you say. Especially when it comes to topics that have absolutely nothing to do with your job or the decisions you make. People these days are quick to judge and even quicker to persecute.

With an opponent like Romney, Obama has a lot to worry about, especially when it comes to what he says. Romney will take any words that come out of Obama's mouth and twist them to serve his own agenda. And that's how the game is played, my friends. I'm not attacking Romney for doing what he does, that's the way politics is now. It's a game of trying to guess what will make the public the most angry at your opponent.

Obama made a gaffe just the other night, stating that the economy is "fine". I'm sure, the second he said it, he knew the opponents were going to shriek in terror and cry for blood. And that's exactly what happened.

Mitt Romney responded, as he always does, with a negative television ad attacking Obama for something that - if any of us had said it - would have just ended in a shrug and a laugh. He's calling the ad "Doing Fine?" and he's hoping to fear monger his way up the ladder to the presidency. The new ad will air in seven states critical to Romney's victory in November - Ohio, Virginia, New Hampshire, Nevada, Colorado, Iowa, and North Carolina. If you don't live in one of those seven states, here's the ad from youtube:

 

I'm sure the blood battle (slash popularity contest) between candidates will only get worse as time goes on. It saddens me to see human beings lower themselves to such grave levels in order to win the hearts of people. There is no lesser of two evils here. Only two small men who can find no better way to get the job than attacking the other.

Got an opinion?? Leave a comment and let me know how you really feel.