Make no mistake. Politics is a bloodsport.
I been a reporter for ... Dang! ... something like 20 years now. I've dealt with a lot of different politicians at a lot of different levels. And yes, I've encountered more than a few whom I've considered to be weasels, thugs or fools.
But I have to afford a certain respect even to those I didn't care for otherwise, simply because of their willingness to enter that arena.
I'll keep that in mind tomorrow, as I'm writing about the primaries in boroughs throughout York County. Because I think running for local -- as opposed to state or national -- races comes with its own set of challenges.
First of all, I'd argue that serving as any kind of public official tends to be an inherently thankless task. Why? Think about it.
Suppose you go out one day and the windshield on your car is smashed. If you're like a lot of people, your reaction might be something like: What the hell do I pay my taxes for if they can't even keep the vandals off the streets around here? Don't we have a police force? Isn't the local government supposed to be making sure they do their job? I'm sure as hell going to make sure they hear about this at city hall!
But you're not going to go out the 364 other mornings of the year and say: Hey! My windshield is intact! That means my local government is doing a great job keeping an eye on things around here! By gosh, I'm gonna bake them a batch of cupcakes!
My point, of course, is that most of us don't even think about our municipal governments unless and until something goes wrong, and we want somebody to yell at.
Another challenge is that local elections sometimes get pretty contentious.
I got my start covering municipal politics in and around my hometown. I remember seeing my former Boy Scout leader and an orthodontist down the street that my sister used to babysit for develop an enmity centering on the local school board that would probably have culminated in pistols at 20 paces had it occurred in a previous century.
Races at the national level can get even more contentious, of course. I'm sure that John McCain and Barack Obama aren't going to be pals anytime soon.
But unlike rivals in municipal races, they don't have to risk running into each other everytime they go to the grocery store or a local high school football game.
So in advance of tomorrow's local primaries, let me congratulate all the candidates willing to put their names out there.
Now let the bloodsport begin!
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