On 10/18/2012 at 3:15 pm, Michael Hogan wrote a blog entry entitled “Why I Wish Election Season Would End Already.” Here, Hogan expresses how fed up he is with watching what elections have become in our country. In his opinion (and mine) they have basically been reduced to big and expensive televised bickering matches. What our country should see as an important and serious event has been turned into a media feeding ground where direct questions don’t receive answers and no real solutions are offered for long standing problems.

The American public has become much more interested in what the media picks out and exaggerates than the actual content of what the politicians are saying and how it can affect them.  In Hogan’s opinion, part of the main problem is that the candidates aren’t saying much that’s worth hearing anyway. They are just putting on a show that allows them to grandstand. While it was at one time very important to campaign during presidential elections, Hogan makes the observation that now “it just seems that this multi-year freak show exists only to line the pockets of mega-creepy types like Karl Rove, who spend their time -- and someone else's money -- finding creative new ways to press voters' emotional buttons.” He also adds that another part of the problem is the America people themselves. A massive part of the population chooses to embrace the media circus over the facts. They watch it, spread it, and make it the norm over being interested in what could have a profound effect on their lives. Hogan makes a few suggestions about how some things could and should be changed that might bring real debates back and make them more appealing. For instance, Hogan pointing out that people need to start getting educated on the facts of the candidates and their platforms (which he includes for you to read) is definitely at the top of my list as well. 

While Hogan is reaching out to the many people who share the same views about how the debates are run, I feel his intended audience is all Americans. He is calling attention to how we as a country are allowing this theatrical show to go on every four years. As well as how we ignore it as a problem by getting swept away in the media frenzy instead of trying to fix it. Michael Hogan not only writes his blogs for The Huffington Post, but is also the Editor of the Executive Arts and Entertainment for the Huffington Post Media Group and oversees HuffPost's Entertainment, Celebrity, TV, Comedy, Books, Arts, and Culture pages.