Here are two opinion pieces from the NY Times by Stanley Fish.
They were of interest to me, and I thought that perhaps they could be to you.

April 8, 2007, 9:12 pm

Parties Matter



The political polling season is already upon us (a bit prematurely, but everything is ahead of itself these days), and polls taken in the past couple of weeks reveal a pattern that commentators are busy explaining. When the question asked is, which party do you trust to do a better job with the economy, the war, global warming, the environment, education, the deficit, immigration, reputation abroad, the administration of justice, the rebuilding of New Orleans?, the Democratic party wins — and in some categories by impressive margins. The same polls show that 60 to 70 percent of the American people believe that the country is heading in the wrong direction, and there is no doubt that President Bush’s rating numbers are also headed in the wrong direction. Why then do Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Barack Obama consistently lose to Rudy Giuliani and John McCain in head-to-head matchups? (The three Democrats do outpoll Mitt Romney, but who wouldn’t?)

The answer usually given is that it’s early. Two years out voters are reacting to personalities, or rather, to their perception of personalities. When things get more serious, and the candidates are put under the lens of relentless scrutiny and have to answer hard questions about hard issues, the ratings, we are told, will turn less on personality and more on policy, and the numbers will change.



Maybe so, but I suspect that in 18 months the personality profiles now given to us by the media will still be in place and remain the focus of political commentary. We’ll still have Giuliani, the stalwart 9/11 hero and crime-fighting mayor (a little tainted by Bernard Kerik and the messiest personal life this side of Britney Spears); John McCain, the stalwart Vietnam War hero and straight shooter (a little tainted by claims that Baghdad is a nice town for an afternoon stroll); Hillary Clinton, the smart, well-organized, effective senator (a little burdened by baggage she is unlikely ever to shed); Barack Obama, the charismatic, eloquent harbinger of a new day (a little suspect because the glittering facade seems unaccompanied by even one substantive idea); and John Edwards, the up-from-poverty trial lawyer and former senator with an inspiring wife (a little defensive when he is asked why a self-advertised candidate of the people has recently built himself a mansion.) When September 2008 rolls around, two of these characters – or perhaps a dark horse drawn from the current list of Bill Richardson, Christopher Dodd, Joe Biden, Al Gore, Fred Thompson, Sam Brownback, Tommy Thompson and Newt Gingrich – will be paraded before the citizenry, which will be asked (endlessly), “Whom would you rather have running the country, protecting our troops, educating our children, and throwing out the first ball on opening day?



It is the wrong question. The right question is “Whom would you rather have exercising the power of appointment?â€

Nice. Very interesting read.