Tom Foreman | BIO
AC360° Correspondent

Reporter's Note: President Obama appears to be inching every closer to the campaign trail. Sigh. Doesn’t he ever read these things?

Dear Mr. President,

How did this happen? Only yesterday I was blissfully trucking along imagining (oh foolish me) that the 2008 election was safely in the past, the mid terms had joined that historic throng, and I could luxuriate in a non-election environment for a few months. No ads. No nasty claims. No handicapping the political horses.

Now, everywhere I turn it’s all, “Who are the top contenders for the presidency?” “What names will be see on the 2012 ballot?” and “Can Obama hold off the challengers?” It’s so depressing. Honestly I can’t imagine that most Americans - worried about their jobs, their home values, and what’s going to happen on “Glee” - can seriously be that caught up in the election drama, yet. Can’t we have at least one “election free” year? Or maybe we can declare an election-free zone. Some quiet place like Missouri or Kentucky.
You know the old phrase: Familiarity breeds contempt. I think this is one of the prime reasons that people dislike politicians so much. (Granted, we’ve pretty much always disliked them, but it’s particularly pointed these days.) We just never get a break. It seems as if someone in the political crowd is constantly waving his or her arms and shouting about yet another election like the Loch Ness Monster is about to surface in the reflecting pool. It’s exhausting.
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