The Endless Campaign

Okay, so the Democratic primary campaign goes on thanks to the voters of my home state of Pennsylvania. For many, this endless campaign is becoming a drag. For others, it is an opportunity to continue to obsessively follow to ebbs and flows of a political season for the ages.

Personally, I've always enjoyed a good election battle even though I prefer wonkish policy talk. Still one of the most shocking elements of the Philadelphia debate held just last week which focused on lapel pins and sniper fire was the short shrift given the economic downturn. I was a bit flabbergasted, as were others, by the failure of the moderators Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos to ask in greater detail about the recession, housing foreclosures, student debt, gas prices, job loss and a whole host of issues that are currently impacting American families.

I recommend another approach. Use this overtime period to get further conversant with the policy proposals of the candidates. Recently we prepared a report designed to capture the major proposals and statements related to saving and asset building from the 2008 presidential campaign. In many respects the campaign has been a period of significant policy innovation. Many insightful proposals have been made by many of the candidates that are worth highlighting. Some of these proposals address issues of economic security, others focus directly on savings and access to financial services, and another set offer policies to promote homeownership and asset protection.

Now some candidates have dropped by the wayside but they generated good ideas that deserve a larger hearing. In recent weeks all of the remaining campaigns have added proposals designed to respond to the housing crisis. For those interested, you can bone up on the proposals of McCain, Obama, and Clinton campaigns.

And for those still undecided primary voters, particularly in North Carolina and Indiana, you might want to closely examine how Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have weighed in on the issue. Or, I guess, you could just adjust your lapel pin and settle in for the next six weeks of the campaign.