By Jamil Oakford/ managing editor
If there’s one more poll, statistic or forum on the 15 Republican presidential candidates or on whether Hillary Clinton can come off personable, I just might revolt.
Primaries haven’t even kicked off in any of the 50 states, yet the media have found ways of making the election season insufferably long.
Between the several GOP debates that have already taken place and the first Democratic debate that took place Oct. 12, the question arises: Why should anyone care about this stuff right now?
The field constantly changes between the year before a presidential election and Election Day.
So, yes, Donald Trump has substantiated a lead over the past few months with an eager Ben Carson nipping at his heels. However, this could mean absolutely nothing by March.
Or it could mean something, and in that case, why test my threshold for pain so early on?
As these conversations take up oxygen in the more general conversation for news, it leaves little air for other meaningful stories to be covered. For example, over the past two weeks, presidential candidates have shaped a highly important conversation about gun control.
Trump claimed it was mental illness that drove the gunman to the shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon while Carson made suggestions on what students should have done. And what did the other candidates say? I’m not quite sure. I couldn’t hear them over everyone replaying Carson’s Popeye’s gunman story.
This really all feeds back to the argument that candidates are covered way too much way too early. Carson is shooting his foot off before he even has a chance to properly race.
Clinton is seemingly always asked about her emails while she awkwardly laughs it off.
The other prominent Democratic candidate, Bernie Sanders, and his ability to win the nomination and tailor his message to win more voters has become a part of an endless loop that’s getting old too fast.
Meanwhile, other candidates on the GOP side that might have something decent to offer are ignored or pushed out of the race completely because of low polling numbers.
The usually hilarious coverage from comedians and faux news shows have also become overbearing with the presidential coverage.
Whatever the case, it’ll be a long 2016.
