Thanks for Running

Are you angry but tired of kicking your dog? Go ahead, kick a political candidate instead. And why not? They not only don’t bite back--they return for more. It’s a free shot in every election cycle and as least as much fun as second-guessing a player trade by the Dodgers. Jerry Springer gets more respect than candidates and their television commercials.

Pick up any newspaper within four weeks of election day and there’s a good likelihood of finding a smug editorial decrying the emptiness of our politics. Professors will offer detailed critiques on campaign methods from the quiet and safety of their cloisters. Pollsters will analyze the cut and thrust of election tactics and offer from afar their obviously superior strategies.

A pundit will sniff that campaign commercials are negative, nasty, uninformative and tasteless.

Following the recent gubernatorial debate sponsored by The Times, one of California’s veteran political editors devoted his Saturday column to an analysis thereof. In short order, this particular column speared Jane Harman for not knowing why she got in the race, derided Al Checchi’s determination to run California like a business, mocked Gray Davis for his longevity in politics and opined that Dan Lungren might prefer mounting a religious crusade.

The writer closed with a typical mixture of sanctimony and cynicism: “Eighteen more days and a zillion TV commercials and you get to decide.” Translation: campaigns stink and voters are faced with bad choices.

The common denominator for such observers and critics is that virtually all of them have neither been a candidate nor run a campaign. They are word-processing warriors, not political veterans. They are Wednesday morning campaign managers with all the answers--eager analysts without their backsides on the line. They intone and anguish and scowl.

Well, for whatever else we say about political candidates and their staffs, it’s worth pausing briefly to offer a few words of praise for those who participate on the front lines of the political process.

It’s true that many of our office seekers are flawed or ill-informed or inexperienced. They might be rough around the edges, too ambitious, deceptive or disingenuous. But the bottom line is that they have jumped into the process. Some may run to stroke their egos or for personal advantage, but the vast majority declare for office to make a difference and improve their communities and the lives of the people in them.

And today’s candidates face even more formidable obstacles. When they run for office, their lives become an open book. They will be investigated and examined. Business disputes, personal foibles, youthful indiscretions, honest mistakes: All become fair game for their opponents and a free press.

News conferences become shouting matches. Weekends with families are gone. The relentless need to raise money makes every phone call an agony. Schedulers push these hopefuls from airplane to bus to car to precinct walks. Bad meals. No meals. Strange hotels.

And after all this, candidates get the privilege of hearing criticism, and from friends as well as adversaries. It can seem at times that no speech is good, all strategy is bad, TV commercials are blah and--worst of all--the opposing candidate is doing everything right.

OK, this is America, and everyone’s entitled to an opinion. No one dares change that, and in fact, we should celebrate the differences in our candidates and keep up the vigorous debate over ideas and issues.

But as election day approaches, and if you’ve never actually run for office or run a campaign or labored in the trenches, then take a moment to reflect. Whether they are Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Green or Reform. Whether liberals or conservatives. Political candidates don’t expect a free pass--but they deserve a little respect for their commitment.

So here’s a preelection toast to all those who left the comfort of their lives to raise their heads above the barricade. They’ve entered the rough-and-tumble arena of democracy. For good or for ill, they nonetheless have taken a risk and put their ideals and personal lives to a public test.

It takes great courage to run for office these days, and at the end of the day, our nation emerges stronger and freer. There is a silver lining: Election campaigns at least come to an end. It’s the blowhards that endure forever.