Over at The Huffington Post, Harvard professor Larry Lessig points out that, for the
first time in recent memory, the presidential candidates have ignored two of
Americans’ Top Ten issues of the campaign.
According to Gallup
polls, the list of 10 issues that the nation’s voters believe should be a
priority for the next president puts “reducing corruption in the federal
government” at No. 2, with 87 percent of Americans saying it is extremely or
very important.
At No. 9 is “overcoming political gridlock” in Washington, with 76 percent labeling it as
extremely or very important.
Yet, Lessig’s column reveals that neither of those two issues is mentioned
on the websites of President Obama or Mitt Romney. How can that be?
Corruption is ranked higher than terrorism, the deficit, education or Social
Security, but the candidates ignore the issue. Tax reform and affordable access
to college rates below gridlock but neither campaign attempts to tackle the
subject.
Here’s a portion of Lessig’s argument:
“Let’s focus on issue No. 2: reducing corruption in the federal government.
It’s clear that by ‘corruption,’ Americans don’t mean the crimes of Rod
Blagojevich or Jack Abramoff. Those scandals were long ago, and our memory is
short. Instead, the only sort of ‘corruption’ that has had the focus of the
news media is the endless campaign cash that every candidate for any office is
now seen obsessively to seek. Super PACs and Citizens United:
these are the triggers to what we mean today by ‘corruption.’ In response to
that corruption, Americans are looking for a democracy that doesn’t seem so
slimy.
“Yet neither Romney nor Obama wants to talk about this corruption, though no
doubt for very different reasons. Though Americans hate the system, beltway
Republicans (and Romney) apparently love it. Some think it’s the only way for
Republicans to remain competitive. So it’s obviously best for them to keep
silent about an issue not likely to win them support. And while Obama no doubt
hates the system as much as anyone, to raise it now would be to remind us that
he promised to “take up that fight” to change the system, but
has not yet gotten around to it. Worse, there’s something seemingly
hypocritical about attacking SuperPACs while encouraging friends to send
support to your own.
“So it’s no surprise that the candidates won’t volunteer a plan to address
this ‘corruption.’ But why is it that they are not asked anyway? Why isn’t it
the core of journalistic ethics to get the candidates to address the issues America wants
addressed, especially when it is clear that candidates themselves don’t want
that issue addressed?”
