Ordinary People

A TV spot for Barack Obama that's running here, the only one that I've seen (over and over and over) has him starting out with these words: "Ordinary People...."

He goes on to say that (now I'm paraphrasing) as "ordinary people" in America struggle to meet their obligations and live paycheck to paycheck, why should we give tax benefits to companies that outsource jobs overseas, that we should give those breaks to companies that employ people here at home.

These political ads -- for ALL the candidates -- drive me crazy. They've all got the candidates talking. Talking. Talking. Talking. Yada yada yada yada yada yada yada yada yada yada. We know they talk, for God's sake. That's all we get, is what's become another overused word in political campaigns, "rhetoric."

The reason I can't remember what Obama says after "ordinary people" is that I get stuck on the idea of "ordinary." Do people really think of themselves as ordinary? I don't think anybody is ordinary, frankly. They may look ordinary at first glance. But in nearly every case, when you talk to someone and dig under the veneer, you find out that they've done, endured, conquered and overcome a whole lotta stuff that would have felled "ordinary" people. I say that about everybody from CEOs to janitors, doctors to Wal-Mart workers.

We're all extraordinary, Mr. Obama and all other politicians that use that word. Please consider banishing that word from your campaign.