I am not a big convention basher. Yes, they are spectacles with no real institutional function anymore, but it's not so bad to have the two parties show their faces and funny hats to the voters at least once before an election.
But it's worth noting that most of the real issues that are facing and will face the next government are either ignored entirely, or treated in the most superficial way. Here are a few that come to mind:
Energy Policy. Yeah, I know, there was lots of wind about wind power, spin about drilling, but both of the parties talked as if energy independence was either possible or would be beneficial. It isn't, and it won't be. There is no conceivable way that the U.S., or any other major power (with the possible exception of Russia, if you think it's a major power) can be self-sufficient on energy. The world will be powered by oil for the foreseeable future, and the U.S. and Europe (along with India and China) will have to import lots of it, no matter what happens. It would be nice if someone in either convention could just say that, but such honesty would be viciously exploited by the other side. A sound energy policy would consist of research into new energy sources, more energy efficient technologies across the board, and yes, drilling. But none of that is going to make us independent. And independence is not something we should want. The world civilization is interconnected, and cheap energy in one place should flow to wherever it can be efficiently used.
Free Trade. Trade has been the single most powerful engine of economic growth since human beings first began to live in cities. Barriers to trade always hurt the nations that put them up, and just right now progress in removing these barriers has stalled. Protectionism always rests on two motives: protecting some industry and interested population at the expense of the national interest, and dislike of foreigners. The Democrats are openly hostile to free trade just now, and the Republicans lack the courage to make the case.
Immigration. Americans care a lot about this, but the campaigning classes are determined not to do anything about it; rather, they have engaged in mutual paralysis. The U.S. probably cannot, and definitely should not, close its borders. We need a steady supply of workers for many industries, and we need skilled and industrious people at all levels of our industrial plant. But we also need to manage immigration. Right now we are importing poverty and large unassimilated blocks of peoples, most from the south, faster than we can deal with them. I don't believe that we can't manage immigration, but both parties seem to be determined to make sure that we don't
That's just three issues that the conventions are realistically facing. You can probably think of more.
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