There was a moment at the end of the final presidential debate this past Monday, when the two candidates are on stage with their families, shaking hands and engaging in small talk.
Of course, they could have been saying the nastiest things to each other with smiles on their faces, but on television, it looked for all the world like church just let out and two families were exchanging pleasantries before going on their way.
It was a reminder of an absolute truth, in politics, for all the talk and money and partisan BS, candidates are not caricatures, they are real people, humans with all the positive and negative attributes that implies.
We are thinking about the humanity of politicians this week because we hosted our bi-annual Meet the Candidates Forum Monday and Tuesday. By and large our candidates are an affable bunch.
Asked about the tenor of the political debate this week, every single candidate said out on the campaign trail, the people they encounter are almost always courteous and the discussions almost always civil.
You might say we Mainers are spoiled by our contact with our state and local representatives. We’ve come to expect our local representatives will be available to us.
Time and time again, we have heard visitors or transplants to this area, say they never met their local politician, never knew or particularly cared to know who represented them. California native Lisa Miller said as much Monday night.
The other things our panelists uniformly shared was the desire to serve. The willingness to help other people is a driving force in their lives. District 19 Senator Seth Goodall said undergoing the rigors of the campaign makes better public servants and the experience makes would-be politicians better citizens.
In this country, we are fortunate to have the process we do, and Mainers particularly are fortunate to have the connection we do with our politicians. It is yet one more reason, as if we needed more convincing, that Maine is a special place to live.
