metric reflection

Bow to the Middle

I figure tonight, of all nights, as the Presidential candidates conclude their 3rd snoozeslugfest, is the best time to introduce this catchy little song from The Rosebuds:

The Rosebuds – Bow to the Middle: The Religion of Politics

This is a dance song, but not in the traditional sense: it’s not meant to get the listener on their feet (though it’s certainly catchy) but to describe the Chaplin shuffle politicians perform every couple years – the one the candidates are both dancing right now.  I’m not going to get too far into the actual politics of our two candidates, or the substance of their arguments (though my roommate has a great dissection of one question in the last debate that I’ve been meaning to commend him for), but rather in the meta-aspect of it.  The point is summed in the chorus:

Hey yeah, walk to the middle and bow to the middle
Hey yeah, walk to the left and bow to the middle
Hey yeah, walk to the right and bow to the middle
Hey yeah, walk all around and bow to the middle

It’s what candidates in our system are required to do:bow to the incessant demands of the inattentive swing voter, the person who still thinks Obama doesn’t give any policy details and McCain just wants to be like any other Republican, but doesn’t really get why.  It’s the continual groveling before the altar of the low information constituency that really undermines everyone interested in furthering the country’s policies – including that very same swing voter.  See, when you spend all your time tempering your statements with an eye toward the middle, with covering your beliefs up just enough that those in the middle will miss your appeals to your base, they end up seeing you as insincere – and that’s when they start doubting.  You, as a politician, carry on your shoulders the mantle of the inadequacies of the system and all the old politicans you evoke in people, and it’s your job to move the discussion past it to the issues you want to discuss.

Incidentally, it’s the Democrats who have traditionally had the biggest problem with this.  Even Bill Clinton, the master of connecting to the white working class, suffered from this.  Republicans, like Bush, were able to wink in both directions by using coded language (see: the Dred Scott decision as a dog whistle to pro-lifers or Reagan, Philadelphia, MS and race).  In this race, it seems that this dynamic has shifted a bit, with McCain being seen more and more as the insincere one, particularly in regards to the economy.

I spend a lot of my off time thinking about political movements – how they are formed, grow, communicate, and, eventually stagnate.  Bowing to the middle on the election trail has been the premier requirement in American politics for at least a generation (right up there with kissing babies), and in that generation, one party has shown itself better practiced at this performance.  I’m curious how much longer this will last, and the form this dance will take in years to come.

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I haven’t written much lately; in part, my free time has been focused on the election and less on music (though I have picked up a lot of great stuff lately), but also because of the demands of end of the year performance metrics coupled with my knack for finding more side projects for myself.  No clue when this will end, but the end of the year looks like a nice cutoff point.

Oh, and the Rosebuds are really great.  Everyone should check them out.