Campaign, intr. v. To avoid work

This morning my mother was trying to reschedule her flight lesson. Why? Because Mr. President was at USC, campaigning for Governor Jerry Brown and Senator Barbara Boxer. So LAX, the Republican movie stars,* and all the little puddle-jumper runways in the Southland were shut down for his arrival. Now, it’s not as if I think Senator Boxer shouldn’t have her celebrity endorsements. After all, the Hewlett-Packard lady Carly Fiorina has the McCain-Palin vote. But on a general level, it bothers me that campaigning has become the number one item in every politician’s job description.

Instead of doing important things like learning how to appropriately greet foreign dignitaries, President Barack Obama is in the worst part of LA trying to convince college students not to do what they do best: avoid the voting booths. At the same time we have Congressional representatives running around saying “Vote for me again!” after proving how incompetent they are by leaving Washington before passing a budget. Really, normal people would be fired for not showing up for work. Why not them?

*For non-Southern Californian readers: I mean the John Wayne (Orange County) and Bob Hope (Burbank) airports.