Political games can tire out the public

The upcoming presidential election appears to be about Martin Luther King and Ronald Reagan. As best I can tell, every candidate in both parties is desperately trying to invoke the name of King or Reagan at every turn.

Barack Obama, who is black, and Hillary Clinton, who is not, both drop the King name as if they stood by the civil rights' leader on that crowded balcony in Memphis 40 years ago. And the Republicans are no better. Each tries to out-Reagan the others as they point with fond memories to the '80s.

So what does this say about our leaders? Do you ever wonder why no one mentions Eisenhower's name since the '50s were remarkably peaceful and prosperous? Or why don't the Democrats evoke the era of FDR since he gave birth to every big-government, giveaway program under the sun?

The Democrats don't shy away from mentioning John Kennedy even though his brief tenure in office was not necessarily marked by any major accomplishments except the backdown of the Russians in Cuba. But JFK holds a special place in American history and mentioning his name certainly does no harm.

Today's candidates want to stand on the shoulders of those who came before them but the truth is, most of these candidates know of these past leaders only what they have read in history books. And our collective memories have faded with time and we all recall only those bright points and rarely those flaws that everyone has.

I long predicted this presidential contest might be about race but I never suspected the combatants would be Obama and Clinton in that discussion. Just shows you what I know about politics.

But this much I do believe. I think it is well past time that the second and third tier candidates fade into the sunset. I'm tired of hearing Dennis the Menace tell us his warped view on the world. He is afforded that massive stage only because he remains a candidate without any prospect of success. So why do we allow him to remain on the stage? Same goes for the Ron Pauls of the world who might have an interesting message but they stand not a chance of success.

It's time to get to the meat and potatoes and let's get our sides chosen and start the game. And we wonder why people tire of politics?!