image is politics

it's nine o'clock on friday night. you're at the university of missisippi and out come the candidates. as they make their entrance bear in mind that these two men have ruthlessly campaigned against and attacked each other for the past few months. they have every right to hate each other, but no, not tonight. tonight there's an audience and they're the best of friends. as they stroll towards their respective podiums the warmest of smiles automatically appear on each candidates face and an arm or two points itself at its opposite preparing for a handshake. these type of greetings are generally reserved for old friends at their fifty year high school reunion but are also used by presidential candidates of the backwards american political system that favors image over all else. this brings me to my main point. we live in a very shallow society, the new generation of voters have been conditioned to favor appearence instead of experience and ability. this type of outlook has affected all aspects of life, and now it's affecting politics. i understand that most americans take comfort in the possibility that democrats and republicans can attack each other one day and be pals the next, but seriously now, that's just not realistic. once all american voters can focus less on image and more on exactly how the candidates feel, some genuine progress will be made.