Some voters seem to be noticing the fact that the 2008 Presidential election is moving at a much faster pace than at any other time in history:
NARBERTH, Pa., July 6 — Kathy Hubbard likes politics, is delighted with the field of Democratic presidential candidates and considers the 2008 presidential race the most exciting — and important — in years.
But she raised an arm in frustration as she cringed at the barrage of images and information that the contest throws at her every day.
“It’s too soon,” Ms. Hubbard, a creative writing teacher, said as she walked up the street of this trim Philadelphia suburb, her two young daughters and a dog in tow. “I don’t ever remember it starting this early. It’s bizarre. It’s a shame that I have to begin paying attention to the presidential race now.”
Ms. Hubbard is hardly alone in her sentiments. In dozens of interviews across the country, voters said the presidential campaign had become much too intense, much too soon.
Much of this, of course, is simply a reflection of the fact that we live in a age when round-the-clock media coverage, as well as non-traditional sources of information on the Internet, mean that the news cycle moves at much faster pace than it ever did before. What might have once been a momentary fumble on the campaign trail is now a YouTube moment that will be blogged about incessantly. And the race And we’ve got three 24 hour news networks, and they all need something to talk about. Then there’s talk radio, the blogosphere, and avenues for activism like Meetup.com.
So does this mean that this is the way Presidential campaigns will be from now on ?
I don’t think anyone knows that, but until we reach the day when politics becomes less polarized, I think we can expect to see more of this in the future.
