Iron Jean-Paul: Everything Old is New Again (Mostly)

Strangely, this political satire from the 2012 Presidential election
cycle is still relevant... so much for new ideas.

The 1980 United States presidential election was the first political clash of which I was even moderately aware. Through the filter of my eleven year-old mind, the contest for the job of guiding the free world could be distilled down to a competition between "the odd guy with the southern accent" (I lived in Western New York) versus "the actor guy with the one liners." Now, 36 years later. not much really seems to have changed. Given the even smaller time-frame between this current presidential election cycle and the previous one, it is probably not surprising then that many of the characters flooding the airwaves look very similar to those who shone brightly just four years ago.

This past weekend, while going through one of the pile of books stacked around my home, I came across a paper doll collection given to me by a former student. If I recall correctly, I had been given it after he returned from Washington, DC, where he had attended one of the Presidential Ball's following the re-election of Barack Obama in 2012. Flipping though the pages, it became clear that little changes in our political landscape, as many of the players have remained the same. The aptly titled 2012 Political Inaction Figures by Tim Foley remains oddly prescient in its commentary. Both of the current party front-runners were present (with he Donald warranting a YUGE spot on the back cover), and a number of the forgotten "insurgents" of yesteryear such as Herman Caine(?) are there too, soon to be joined by the current roster of never-to-be-heard-from-agains.