Political Theater

I joked with my mom that I would never wash my hand again. A few hours ago I had the opportunity to shake Sen. Clinton's hand. She spoke at a Barack Obama rally held outside in the North Plaza at GMU. After a string of good luck and a bit of volunteering, I ended up in the front row, right in front of the stage. After her speech, the Senator shook hands with the crowd.

The thing I noticed while waiting for the Senator was how much of the rally was staged for appearances. One campaign staff member spent ten minutes rearranging a carefully chosen group of students and supporters on the risers on the stage. She left briefly to obtain a gold jacket for one man, so that he could better represent Mason colors. At one point, a staff member began passing out homemade signs that said things like "Nurses for Obama" and "GMU Loves Obama" to random people in the crowd.

I think Obama will make a great president and I admire everything Clinton has done for women in this country, but even I thought the homemade signs were a bit much. Campaigning as become so geared to what the cameras see that it is hard to believe anything we see. Television allows candidates to be seen by more people, but it also makes the things like the color of jackets seem important.

I guess rallies have never been sources for deep, political philosophy, but I'll be glad when the election is over and we can go back to caring about things that actually affect us.