Real leaders: This election is going to be about picking the ones to lead the way

There is this funny -- and slightly annoying -- fact about elections.

Truth doesn't seem to matter.

It is all about the political dodge.

The objective for any candidate seeking re-election is simply to come up with a way to divert attention from his or her troubles in office and bad decisions. The goal is to imply that his or her opponent will make even worse bad decisions if he or she is elected.

The same is true for sitting presidents. When domestic politics aren't going so well, then it is time to switch to international concerns. And if the international is really bad -- and there is no strategy -- the best idea is to seek international support and to talk about the next threat.

You are going to see a lot of dodgeball in the coming months as sitting politicians try to escape the glare of their records and twist murky details into something that does not even remotely resemble the truth.

The trick this time is going to be to unravel the fibs and separate them from the truth.

This next election is going to be about leadership.

We are going to have to choose those with a plan, a direction -- a vision for what this country could be if it were steered properly.

We need to evaluate decisions that have been made and alliances that have been upheld and check to make sure we are electing an individual and not a party mouthpiece.

We need people with the guts to say what needs to be said -- and who will stand up to those whose bullying and grandstanding have damaged this country.

We need someone who will tell the world that negotiations only work where there is trust, and that this is a nation that will stomp out brutality and corruption wherever we find it. It is not about acquiescing anymore.

It won't be easy to find these people. We will have to listen, to read and to think on our own.

We will have to demand that real questions are answered and reject the pablum that appears in campaign ads.

We will need to insist that candidates do more than kiss babies and appear on late night TV.

We will have to demand substance even when we are handed spin.

It is going to be a long campaign season. And it will be important to pay attention to questions, answers and debates for the next two months.

But if we do the work and demand better, there is a bright future ahead.

But the work starts now -- and it is, still, all up to us.

Published in Editorials on September 6, 2014 11:17 PM