It has been 209 years since the election of 1789, yet the very most basic ideals of democracy are clearly evolving and flourishing. This election of 2008 holds the potential to break the stigmatic rules of the past 209 years with the prospective of an African American male or a Woman to become Head of State. It is clearly evident that the winds of change are slowly increasing in strength; but will they stay strong and set a new precedent?

As my classmate highlighted earlier, the election of 1824 and the current election of 2008 share some distinct similarities. While the current election is yet to identify the two main party candidates, it is already evident that this political race, as in 1824, may well be decided by personality rather than policy. As Paul F. Boller Jr. highlights in “Presidential Campaigns”, the election of 1824 was dominated by “personalities, not issues” as is clearly evident in the current competition between Obama and Clinton in the struggle to gain the Democratic Presidential Candidate nomination. As democracy has evolved and flourished, so to has the ability to critique, and as highlighted in a previous post, slander. While the media in 1824 focused on slovenly dress, English wives, drinking, gambling and possibly murder, modern media allows us not only new degrees of slander, but also more in depth analysis of the potential presidential candidates, and a more thorough understanding of how significant a candidate’s personality remains throughout their campaign.

In a recent article by Joe Klein for Time Magazine, Klein highlights how the personalities of the Democratic party frontrunners not only have born a new interest and vigor in democratic voters, but may also see a greater divide between the candidates and their potential support, “Both Clinton and Obama have difficulties reaching across …divides, and that is where the fear resides: neither candidate may prove strong or broad enough” (Klein). Klein highlights that each member tailors their campaign to suit their personality, Clinton attempting to prove her more extensive knowledge through debates and press questions, while Obama attempts to display his charismatic and inspiring personality through speeches. However, each is lacking where the other strides ahead, resulting in the deadlock that we are witnessing currently for the nomination of the Democratic Party (Klein).
One can only be expected to consider the potential strength of the candidates as running mates. Michael Duffy addresses this in “Clinton, Obama: Why Not Both?” where he highlights how beneficial “the visionary and the technician” partnership could be to the Democratic Party. However, Duffy highlights neither candidate is giving any indication that they may consider being the Vice President, as only can be expected when the candidates have remained so unbelievably close throughout the Primary elections.

This deadlock, similar to that for the Presidential nomination in 1824 between Adams and Jackson, will soon be resolved, but will these apparent personality flaws become further accentuated against the probable republican candidate John McCain and the Presidential election follow suit of the 1824 election on a personality basis, or will the battle to be the Head of State revert back to party lines and policy issues? Only time will tell.