Locked in Pandora's Boxby: Douglas E. LindnerThu Apr 17, 2008 at 02:27:34 AM EDT |
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In the Pennsylvania debate, both candidates pledged not to raise taxes on people making under 200k, and CNN thinks it's a big deal. I disagree. Pledges taken by prompt in debates that nobody watches will not matter after the election is over, particularly because there have been so many excruciating debate.
But we in New Hampshire have plenty of experience with pledges, by candidates for every level of government I hate pledges. Not because I'm against the policy every pledge advocates, but because a pledge puts candidates in a box whether or not they take them. If a politician takes a pledge and reneges, they're called a liar. If a politician refuses to take a pledge, they're not to be trusted on the issue. If a politician refuses to give one-word answers on every issue, they're a wishy-washy flip-flopper. Some things are more complicated than binary commitments whose parameters are decided by TV producers. This watered-down politics of sound bites is a cancer on our national debate. |