The Audacity of Pomposity

I was just reading the article on Politico about the latest decision by Chris Christie not to run. To put it mildly, Politico ought to be ashamed of its coverage. In one article supposedly about Christie, we hear that the two candidates presently ahead in the polls, Romney and Perry, are flawed. Politico also states this gem: "While Christie’s reconsideration of a presidential run briefly changed that, by declining a bid he’s left uncommitted Republicans with no apparent alternative candidate to Romney and Perry." I think that will be news to the other seven announced candidates.

The truth is that even under the newly accelerated schedule, it is still three months until the first votes are cast in Iowa. Politico should and does know better than to decide on which candidates are "flawed" and which are the only choices. Just think of it this way: two weeks ago, Perry was way ahead. Two weeks before that, Romney was the front runner. A few weeks before that Michelle Bachmann was closing on the lead. A month or so before that, Gingrich was written off even though he is now back into double digits in most polls. At about the same time, we were hearing how Huntsman was likely to be extremely successful; of course, he now polls below three percent most of the time. Herman Cain was just a folksy non-entity for most of the spring and summer. Now he is also closing on the top two. Even Rick Santorum has moved up in the polls.

It will be fun to watch Politico change its absolutely certain opinions over the next few months as conditions are altered and voters get their say. While it is unlikely that Politico will ever admit to having been wrong, it is important that readers of that site realize that most of what appears there is hype and pomposity. Indeed, the subtitle for Politico could be "The Audacity of Pomposity".