It’s political season in Prague, and candidates’ posters are all over the place. Now, I don’t take a big interest in Czech politics, which may be a bit ironic, seeing as how I’m so obsessed with American politics.
I’ve chosen to live here. It’s a great country. But I’ve been here 12 years and don’t know the difference between the ODS and the CSSD. In the U.S., I know more about politicians than most sports fans know about their favorite players. Commenting on political web sites is like a role playing game to me. I’m not building up a farm or trying to acquire an invisibility cloak, but I love it when people respond to a comment I’ve made.
But one thing is true in both countries. Politician’s signs, from the handbills they plaster on walls and poles, to the billboards and the yard signs (that’s an American thing. If anybody actually put a sign in their yard or window here to support a particular candidate, their neighbors would think they were nuts. Seriously.) don’t give any real information. Just a name, a picture and, maximum, a slogan. What I don’t understand is why they seem to think their picture is so important? If the candidate is particularly attractive, I suppose there’s a point. I remember one girl who said she was supporting John Edwards because she thought he was cute. That was a long time ago. Certainly, Sarah Palin got a few votes based on her looks, and JFK would never have been president if he hadn’t been significantly better looking than his opponent.
But why would unattractive people put their pictures on their advertisements? Why not some kind of graphic which illustrates their policies, or a picture of puppies playing on the lawn, flowers in the garden, unicorns and rainbows?
I saw one in particular the other day. I laughed out loud when I saw it, but my wife was talking to the kids in Czech and, as long as I was carrying the groceries, nobody was particularly interested in my opinion. It had the man’s picture (I can’t remember the man’s name or party) and something about ending corruption.
He just looked like the most corrupt son of a bitch you’ve ever seen in your life.
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