Our national food fight

Lies, misinformation, misstatements, name-calling, insults, provocative acclamations, racism, sexism, embarrassing public behavior — actions and attitudes that would not be tolerated on an elementary school playground have become the norm in the current campaign for the Democratic nomination for president.

For awhile, it looked as though the Republicans were going to disintegrate with so many candidates in the field, and then all was calm as the final two holdouts stood aside and endorsed John McCain, a candidate who still does not have the support of many Republicans.

For awhile, the Democrats looked unbeatable with the charismatic and attractive Barak Obama and the battle-hardened and savvy Hillary Clinton capturing the imaginations of the party faithful. For Democrats and many Independents, either candidate seemed preferable to the Republican alternative. There was even talk of a Clinton-Obama or an Obama-Clinton ticket where history would be made on several significant levels.

But then the food fight started. Now, even committed Democrat strategists interviewed on news programs seem dismayed and disgusted, while most smug Republican spokespersons seem to wish to say little and simply let the Democrats destroy themselves and spend their money.

It does, indeed, appear that a bitter civil war is occurring within the Democratic ranks. At the moment, Obama holds the lead in pledged delegates and in the popular vote. But that doesn’t take into account the delegate mess in Michigan and Florida and no one knows what the so-called super delegates will do with their votes.

Of course, there are still a number of important primaries that lay ahead. It is entirely possible that the nomination will be decided, not by the voters in the various states, but by professional politicians cutting deals in back rooms.

At some point, there will be a Democratic nominee. The question may well be: Does anybody care? Many people are wearied by politics and politicians even when things are going well. When things are going poorly, the possibility exists that many votes of both parties will just stay home. Politicians of both parties have among the lowest approval ratings of any profession. The current brawl cannot do anything to enhance their reputations.

On the other hand, it’s all good television. People regularly tune in to reality programs like “Jerry Springer” and “Fear Factor” to watch people humiliate and denigrate themselves. There is a certain satisfaction in knowing that there are people out there who have less class and poorer manners than we do.

Part of the appeal of “American Idol” is that the public gets to see at least a few people who will be horribly embarrassed in front of millions of people. And, in “Mixed Martial Arts,” the combatants beat each other to a bloody pulp as the crowd roars its approval and delights in the pain displayed before them.

Yet, all this is just a warm-up. Once the Democrats have a nominee, the real battle will begin. It remains to be seen whether the Republican and Democratic candidates will act “presidential” or whether the food fight will be escalated.

It would all be great entertainment and good drama, if only the future of the nation and the destiny of the entire world weren’t hanging in the balance.

[Father David Epps is the founding pastor of Christ the King Church, 4881 Hwy. 34 E., Sharpsburg, GA 30277, between Peachtree City and Newnan, and serves as a bishop to Georgia and Tennessee. Services are held Sundays at 8 and 10 a.m. Fr. Epps is also the vicar of Christ the King Church in Champaign, IL. He may be contacted at frepps@ctkcec.org. The church has a website at www.ctkcec.org.]