How aspiration and hope, not substance, drive politics

I was doing some morning reading and came across a post in the Atlantic called, "The Fluffiest Praise of Ted Cruz You're Likely to Encounter: Jim DeMint's paean in Politico is unintentionally revealing."

Quite the title, eh? It goes on to dissect how Jim DeMint projects the idealized version of a Republican candidate onto Ted Cruz, a new Republican senator in Texas. It's a good article that makes some strong points about why it's too early to really judge this senator.

But this article isn't about Jim DeMint's writing, or about Ted Cruz. It's not even really about Conor Friedersdorf's article. I think Friedersdorf is right that DeMint is exaggerating the success and inspirational qualities of Cruz.

But that's the point.

Aspiration and hope drive politics. People get elected the first time based on what they promise to do. The rhetoric is all about getting people on board with what they are going to do next. While in some ways it's important to have a strong accomplishment on your legislative resume, it's far more important to be a well-dressed, well-spoken individual who can get people excited about the future.

Sure, it's being done by and for Ted Cruz. It was done by and for President Barack Obama. It is being done by and for Mark Rubio, Hillary Clinton, and pretty much everyone who will run for office… ever.

It's a simple statement, but also one that gets to the heart of all politics. We all make our decisions based on hope. Which makes all of politics feel a lot like marketing. Which means, the record of people who are running for office isn't as much of an issue as how that record is presented, framed and spun. Because we all love a good rebirth story, and we all love even more the sweet, sweet taste of hope.

So Ted Cruz, enjoy the press.

Image courtesy of Gage Skidmore via flickr