How to run the US.

Last week there were two joyful mob scenes. One was in Athens, where the mob rejoiced at the victory of Greece in the European soccer championship.The other was in the US, where John Kerry presented his vice-presidential candidate. There was the usual wild applause as the two hopefuls grinned, waved their arms nd shook the mob's hands. The hand waving, hand-shaking and grinning must cause a syndrome peculiar to politicians. Since it does not seem to have a name, let us call it politicitis. The happy two and their wives were photographed romping happily around the Heinz estate. The sight of the Kerry's dumpy little wife, who through the lottery of marriage controls some $1 billion and may control the ear of the next president of the US, made me ponder. Former President Clinton is in Berlin flogging the German translation of his book. Standing before two large posters of a grinning Clinton, a grinning Clinton happily scribbled his name on the copies of it for 2,000 Germans lined up with copy in hand. They said they wanted to find out what he said about Monica Lewinsky. Such is the way the world sees the political leaders of the world's greatest country.

Meanwhile, virtually unnoticed, the Democratic Party has been drafting its policy statement, a long and thoughtful document. The discussions were on a high level, but I have not seen it, and most people have never heard of it. I often wonder why the politicians I most respect do not run for the presidency. Is it because they are discouraged by the danger of politicitis and other hazards? Or is it because the parties decide they do not have enough political sex appeal? Add one name to the list of should-be presidential candidates, that of Republican Senator Gordon Smith of Oregon. I had not heard of him until last week, when he gave two speeches, one on a bill about a program to prevent suicides, of which his son was recently a victim, the other defending a constitutional amendment calling for a definition of marriage as a union between one man and one woman. He was reasonable, statesmanlike, and spoke an English which other politicians should emulate, Unfortunately in our system everything becomes political, and some Democrats countered by saying that the matter should be left to the states. Incidentally, freedom of speech is a problem,. We have an apartment which we rent. It has a double bed, so I sent to the university housing website an announcement saying it was suitable for a single person or a married couple. I was told that the expression "married couple" is taboo, so "married" was deleted.

Serious American politics is conducted behind a wall of mob scenes, hoopla and politicitis. Tear that wall down!