A good deal of the blame we currently level at participants in the political process is misplaced.

Politicians, for example, are not really the creators of today’s politics of the photo opportunity and the 20-second sound bite.  In fact, politicians have never entirely acquiesced to it.

They still persist in presenting themselves to voters in fairly meaty traditional "stump speeches."  In these talks, candidates outline what they have identified as the most compelling issues facing us, they explain their positions on them at some length, and they compare and contrast their proposals with those of their opponents.

Aren’t these really the essential ingredients we need to make a reasonable electoral choice?

Moreover, stump speeches can be lively, interesting, even funny.

The problem is, very few of us have ever heard a stump speech.