Entertainer-In-Chief?

Last night Mike Hucklebee graced late night viewers for the second time in one week with an appearance on Dave Letterman commenting that it he is running for president because you get to live in a really nice house in Washington D.C. Last Wednesday he appeared on Jay Leno. I admit that I am a Leno fan. I get a really big kick out of his opening monologue (usually that is all I can stay awake for), and sometimes I will watch if there is a guest appearance by someone I really, really, like. I do not however watch Jay Leno, to get my news, find out about current events, or to help me make an educated decision on who to vote for the next president of the United States. When I think about who would better serve our country for the next four years, my decision has never been based on how a candidate can hold his own with the likes of Dave Letterman. "Oh, he can read a punch line from a tele-prompter, check." I find it much more important for someone to hold their own with leaders from other countries, with congress, you know, people like that.

In my eyes, we are continuing to dumb down American (more on the dumbing down of American in a future post), by making a joke or gaining some laughs from a presidential candidate appearing on a late night talk show. Hucklebee's camp would say that he is reaching out to a different group of viewers, he is spreading the word. I would answer by saying what word? If he actually talked about issues, as Barack Obama did on Ellen a few months ago and as Bill Clinton did on MTV's rock the vote (despite the audience's question concerning boxers or briefs, that Monica Lewinsky could have just as easily answered), that would be a different story. I could be wrong, but from what I have read, it is mostly young, educated, informed individuals who watch Late Night TV for comic relief (you would have to be somewhat informed to catch the full humor in a lot of the jokes, especially Jay's opening ones). Those who would be influenced and make their decision based on the fact that a presidential candidate can play the electric guitar or saxophone are probably watching "The Simpson's" reruns during that hour.

Seriously, there are some major issues plaguing our society today. For starters, our country is at war, we have a financial system disaster, and hundreds of babies are being killed everyday who have not even had the chance to live. Millions of people cannot afford basic health care, illegal aliens are crossing the border at an alarming rate with no resistance, and homosexuals are making a mockery out of marriage. I want to hear about those issues; I want to base my decision of who to support based on their views of these things. That's great if you are funny, can play the flute with your nose or can dance hip-hop, but it would not make me vote for you.