Editorial
Front Page - Friday, November 19, 2010
Southern Style
Take off the gloves and put on the mitts
Randall Franks
The election season is finally over, barring any post-count legal maneuverings by either side.
It is now time for all candidates on every tier of government to take off the boxing gloves, shake hands and come out fighting for the American people rather than against each other.
I have often wondered what miracles could be accomplished if candidates took those millions they use to travel around the country via bus and?plane, creating a presence on television, radio, newspaper and Internet?while smiling, waving, shaking hands and kissing babies, to accomplish something needed in our country like building some new factories.
Of course, this is a dream that will never be realized. In the early days of our country, people were simply elected on the merit of what was written about them in newspapers and through word of mouth.
It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for most Americans to even get to see a candidate, let alone a president.
We had candidates such as Washington, Jefferson, Adams and countless others who traveled as far as the horse and buggy or ship or boat might carry them.
When trains came along, candidates would stump largely only where the rails could carry them. The classic speech from the rear of a caboose is a wonderful early political image.
Today, however, candidates are in our face almost every minute trying to get our attention to get behind their agenda.
It is safe to say that more money has probably been spent in some races than ever before. What could be done with that? What if it was put in Social Secur-
ity? What if it was used to help our military families? Instead, it turns the political wheels.
Now that it is all over and the gloves are off, candidates could instead put on their mitts. Let’s have all the candidates – winners and losers – form baseball teams and gather in the largest stadium in the country and face off one final time for the enjoyment of the people.
On the national level, we could have President Barrack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Harry Reid on one team. A grouping of newly-elected Republican congressmen and senators could comprise the other side, led by the next Speaker of the House, U.S. Rep. John A. Boehner. It could be shown on pay-per-view, and the money raised from the event could go toward helping pay down the national debt.
That would at least be more entertaining than the last many months have been.
This would be a tremendous way for candidates to help relieve the tension that the election has placed on families across the country.
If baseball isn’t the answer, they could don oven mitts and the competition could be a bake-off. With the popularity of food-related television?these days, I bet even that would work.
Then after the games are over, hopefully, they can all shake hands, and the winners and losers can work together to make our country a better place to live.
Randall Franks is an award-winning musician, singer and actor. He is best known for his role as “Officer Randy Goode” on TV’s “In the Heat of the Night” now on WGN America. His latest CD release, “An Appalachian Musical Revival,” is by www.shareamericafoundation.org. He is a member of the Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame. He is a syndicated columnist for http://randallfranks.com/ and can be reached at rfrankscatoosa@gmail.com.
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