The Target Constituency

If American politics made any sense at all, we wouldn't have two giant political parties of roughly equal size perpetually fighting over the same 5 - 10 percent swatch of undecided voters, blues versus reds. Instead, the parties should be broken down into the haves and have-nots -- a couple of obnoxious bankers on the Upper East Side running for office against 280 million pissed-off credit card amd mortgage customers.
~ from Griftopia: Bubble Machines, Vampire Squids, and the Long Con That Is Breaking America by Matt Taibbi ~

It seems like every time the President or the Speaker of the House says something, political commentators and pundits explain the remarks in terms of that "5 - 10 percent swatch of undecided voters." One reporter will chortle, "The President's statement is aimed at wooing the 'independents' in 2012." Another will frame John Boehner's comments as "showing independents that the GOP means business."

Look, I'm not naive. I realize that a good portion of the process of governance always is focused not on the present situation but the next election cycle. I get that. At the same time, I get so tired of this posturing, particularly because it is targeted at such a small portion of the voting population.

I long for the day when we could have leaders who will say what they mean and mean what they say without every utterance being focused on the desire for re-election.

While I have not been a supporter of term limits in the past -- an arbitrary line drawn in the sand that serves as a mechanism to push both effective and ineffective elected representatives out the door -- I am starting to lean the other way. I want my leaders to focus on the here and now; what each believes is best for the current situation and future generations. If term limits might stanch some of the ravenous pandering to this nebulous 5 - 10 percent, then maybe we should revisit this strategy.