November 8, 2016 is not a date that most people will instantly recognize. Although everyone is talking about it. Millions of dollars are being spent in preparation for it. Millions of people are debating who they will choose for it. November 8, 2016 is the day a new president will be elected in the United States.
This may come as a surprise to some, especially people who do not live in the United States. They may wonder why Americans are talking so much about an election that is over a year away. This is a valid thought, because the length of campaigns in the grand old U.S. are insane.
Of course, the presidential discussion does not start out with talk of two politicians or two parties competing, but instead focuses on who will be running for the two major parties. The actual primaries begin as early as February 2016, over four months away, and don't finish until July. Don't worry though, because the primaries in July really don't mean anything. By then it is usually clear who will win the election and often times people drop out once they realize they don't have a chance. This is great for states like Iowas and New Hampshire as limos full of potential candidates stream into the states to discuss the issues that matter to them most. This has encouraged states to move there primaries earlier and earlier just so they can actually have a voice, lengthening campaigns even more. The end result being a focus on issues that only a fraction of people care about and a complete lack of participation for many states with later primaries.
Canada just experienced an incredibly long federal election campaign as well, in fact the longest one in their history. They hit the astounding number of seventy eight days. That is correct ladies and gentleman, other countries around the world are able to compact campaigns into bite sized times under ninety days. Actually Canada usually manages fifty day long campaigns. Many Canadians were incredibly upset that the campaigns in 2015 lasted over seventy days. Yet, in the United States their seems to be little attention given to the length of elections. More reporters would rather talk about Donald Trump's hair.
With hundreds of articles constantly filling the web about the potential candidates and the first debate having already occurred, their is little room left for in depth discussion of major issues. It is to early for candidates to take legitmate stances, especially considering many of the issues they discuss won't even matter when the actual election occurs. All of this takes away airtime from important issues such as trade deals with Asia and instead replaces it with another article about Donald Trump's opinion on Rosie O'Donell.
This is terrible. The country is so focused on the presidential election that policy making and discussion are restricted. Politicians are forced off the senate floor and into tour buses to travel the country giving speeches, while important issues are ignored. Perhaps it is time for the U.S. to follow the example of their neighbor to the north and restrict the length of the political campaigns.
