During Easter weekend, the Chancellor of Germany was photographed in a one-piece swimsuit, talking with her husband at their annual Easter vacation destination in South Italy. This caused a fuss among many Germans who always separated the public and private lives of their politicians.

“Germans are not so eager to look on the personal lives of politicians,” said Heinrich Oberreuter, professor of political science at the University of Passau.

This is extremely different from the personalistic approach to politics we find in the United States, where pictures regularly catch presidents in their private lives. For instance, photos of President George W. Bush cutting brush on his Texas ranch are normal for U.S. citizens to see. As head of state, the president of the United States is viewed as the prototypical U.S. citizen. However, the president not only holds symbolic authority, but also legislative power as head of government.

Where Germany’s chancellor is solely focused on political action, our president must focus on his figurehead image as well.

The rise of media attention contributes to this problem. Since American politics are so personalistic, we find politicians attending fundraisers rather than politicking with other politicians in order to pass legislation. As a consequence, politics is becoming increasingly unpolitical in the United States, with more of an emphasis being placed on personality, rather than political skill.

This trend began in 1960, when the first presidential debatewas televised. Polls taken of people who watched the debate on TV claimed John F. Kennedy was the clear winner, but radio listeners believed it was Richard Nixon. Today, “When parties are considering their candidates they ask: ‘Who would look better on TV? Who comes across better? Who can debate better?'” said Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, in a Time article called “How the Nixon-Kennedy Debate Changed the World.”

This depoliticizing of American politics has led to many problems. For instance, Axel Boldt, former German resident and now a professor at Metropolitan University, said, “Germany gives much more power to political parties,” explaining how parties raise money for candidates as well as choose the candidates who run for each district, and German citizens rarely “vote their conscience.” They are more loyal to their party. On the contrary, United States politicians campaign independently and raise their own money. This leads to less focus being placed on politics and more on fundraising. This also leads to the problem of weak parties, which is arguably the reason we are experiencing so much of a stalemate in the White House between the president and Congress.

Boldt further states in his comparison of American and German politics, “American politicians are almost constantly raising money for their next campaign. Since they are free to change their voting pattern on almost any topic, moneyed interests have much more political influence than in Germany.” In Edmund Burke’s speech, Representing the Nation, he spoke of the importance of politicians who collaborate and consider each others’ opinions with respect, “It is his duty to sacrifice his repose, his pleasures, his satisfaction, to theirs, and above all, ever, and in all cases, to prefer their interests to his own.”

One may argue, “But isn’t that the same thing as what is causing these partisan politics in Washington today?” No, because Burke is not advocating for nonconformity but rather compromise, which arises out of political debate and conversation between politicians of various constituents around the United States, so Congress may come to a compromise, which is best for the common interest.

Conversely, we see political factions arise because of wealthy lobbyists who support their own political interests.

This lobbying leads to less political politicians, and more men who vote based on what rich donor they are trying to kiss up to.

Great politicians of old, such as Theodore Roosevelt, would have been labeled by the media as hypocrites and immoral liars. Roosevelt was the first president to really try to enforce anti-monopoly legislation, which regulated trusts. He would allow these large corporations to donate money to his campaign, and once he got into office, he would turn around and bust their trust. In the media era we live in today, Roosevelt would have been viewed as scandalous and dishonest, but he was able to enforce radical legislation that helped the working class.

We shouldn’t desire two-faced politicians, but citizens need to elect politicians who are good at the political game and are able to compromise to do what is best for the country.

Though this news story about the German chancellor was viewed by Germans as “scandalous,” it can teach us a lesson about how we do politics. If the United States had less media distraction, politicians would have more freedom to act with other politicians in Congress because they are not swayed by lobbyists or media image.

Stronger parties and less media intervention in the lives of politicians would lead to a stronger political system in the United States.

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Connor Clarke is a sophomore in history from Sherwood, Ore.