NPR: Another Day, Another Political Hoop to Jump Through

Another Day, Another Political Hoop to Jump Through

Tonight, the Democratic candidates have their third forum in a week, this time sponsored by the gay/lesbian cable channel Logo and the Human Rights Campaign. (You can watch it online here.) I suppose it's a good test for politicians to see if they can empathize with a crowd without pandering to it. But it's getting tough for the Democrats to please everyone.

First, they had to pay homage to the liberal bloggers at the YearlyKos convention. Then they had to fly their union flags at the AFL-CIO forum (good highlights here). But the service workers union, SEIU, isn't letting them off that easy. To compete for the union's endorsement, candidates have to shadow one of its workers.

On Wednesday, Sen. Barack Obama mopped floors and made breakfast for a man in a wheelchair as he followed a home health care worker on her daily rounds. Sen. Hillary Clinton will reportedly work a shift as a nurse in a Las Vegas hospital next week. These days it's not enough to kiss butts, you have to wipe butts to get elected.

Maybe those union guys are onto something. Maybe the candidates should have to work in an industry before they are allowed to tout their ideas for changing it. You have a great plan for universal health care, fine. But first spend a day with a doctor fighting insurance companies for coverage. Then, heck, spend the next day with the insurance workers and see their side. Get moving, candidates. Drive the buses. Fight the wars. Write the blogs. Then, maybe the American worker would finally get something out of presidential politics: A day off.

- Robert Smith

5:40 PM ET | 08- 9-2007 | permalink

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