The Long Tail -- Politics

I'm only going to post one link, here. You can find all the links you need from that story.
What it's all about this morning is the "debate" last night. All I have to say is this. The Long Tail is catching up to Politics as we know it. Candidates have never been fond of addressing the issues that matter to the people in a direct manner. That's old news. To a politician, addressing an issue frankly would mean that they may not get everyone in the country to vote for them. Sometimes I think that is exactly what they believe: That if they somehow said or didn't say the right thing, that everyone would come out of their fog and vote for a single party -- a single candidate.
But, as we've seen over the past few years the people are starting to get pissed. And they finally have a voice. As I mentioned in an earlier post everyone has a voice on the internet, and more and more people are using it. They are using it to say that they are tired of politics as usual. There are growing numbers of people who simply don't want to see or hear a bobble head presidential candidate. The general populace's eyes have been opened to the political games that are really being played, and they are growing sick of it.
So, The Long Tail of politics comes into play, and the net effect is the reaction to last night's debate. Political mud-slinging is having less and less of a long term effect. Avoiding the issues is having more and more of a long term effect. The Long Tail of 'playing politics' is that after such a long battle to get to this point, none of the candidates have said a single damn thing that has had any real impact. Yes, Yes, everyone knows that both of the Dems want to pull out of Iraq, and that McCain wants to keep pushing forward for some time. The same blah blah goes for the environment, taxes, health care... We've heard the three of them time and time again on these same stinking issues, and we, collectively, are sick of it.
No matter what issue has come up, the three candidates have said crap, and have refused to raise issues of their own. How about the case that the supreme court is currently overseeing that involves a gun ban in D.C.? What if it passes or is overturned? How about the current crisis that is building over the cost and use of corn to fuel cars? How can the playing field be leveled to ensure that our cars aren't literally eating our lunch? How about Nuclear power? Will someone please address the facts and fiction that has been spread about the safety and efficiency of reactors and waste? The list goes on and on and on.
So. The reality of the Long Tail is that the traditional cat and mouse game that these three Senators have been playing with the issues is no longer effective in garnering votes. Few swing voters, and a growing number of party established voters are going to be satisfied with Politics-as-Usual. It's a mindset that have been growing for some time, and it is now starting to manifest itself in greater numbers of jaded voters, pissed off bloggers, and disaffected party members. If the GOP and Dems aren't more careful in the future, one of those *crazy* Independents may pull the carpet out from under them. I for one would love to see it happen.