Turning on the television always means being bombarded with the same news. Michael Jackson is in trouble, the president wants to expand the space program, and everyone is making fun of Democrat presidential candidate Howard Dean.
Anyone who has been paying attention to the past week's political events has noticed how Dean's fallbacks have made him incredibly popular. It seems that way with most of American political losers.
Take Bob Dole. The man kept running for president and losing. There is something to be said for perseverance, but Dole gained some of his fame because he lost. He had traits that were easy to imitate, especially by comedian Norm McDonald on "Saturday Night Live." When Bob Dole appeared on the show, people cheered.
Maybe Americans think Dole is just a lot cooler because he lost.
When someone loses an election, their political career might seem obsolete, but their 15 minutes of Hollywood-style fame has just begun.
Dean is a perfect example. He placed third at Tuesday's Iowa Caucus but still showed fire for the election.
His now famous "taking back the White House" outburst was funny the first 30 times and is still funny now. It has created an Internet craze flooded with creative interpretations of Dean's speeches that include merchandise.
Looking for a sultry gift for Valentine's day? Why not buy your devoted Democrat significant other a Dean thong? The simple white unmentionable is spiced up with Dean's triumphant"Yeahhhhh" in black lettering. There is a matching camisole, too.
A child on the way? How about a Howard Dean onesie for the little tike. There is a sure conversation-starter at day care.
So while you are sitting in your brand new Howard Dean underthings, you can surf www.deangoesnuts.com, a Web site that provides remixes of Dean's speeches, some of which are streamed with video. It's like clubbing music for political science geeks.
Sounds American to me.
Enjoying the political humor is understandable. Elections would lack entertainment value if politicians were always well-spoken and free of indiscretions.
But as the election process progresses, people might start really missing the point. Each primary and caucus occurs to get America ready to find its next president. With a handful of Democratic candidates, the election should already be interesting.
However, the interest of the public seems to slip away with politics. The simple primary to general election schedule just does not seem to be enough to run up against a new season of "American Idol".
Without huge developments in scandals, or news stories on a candidate's slip of the tongue, Americans tune out to important political messages.
When November rolls around, and it is time to vote, Americans will be filled with people saying "I don't know who to vote for because I don't know anything about the candidates."
At this point, the election might not seem as entertaining when American may get the president that is not the best person for the job. Instead of asking ourselves where we were when "this guy" got into office, we should focus on what we could do now to make sure we choose the right president.
In the end, it is more important to pay attention to the candidates views' on issues. But this will not stop people from focusing on whatever happens along the way.
Write to Lauren at lauren_phillips@lycos.com
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