Complete the sentence: Politics is like...

[SingingAnalyst]

I vote for chess game, though it has aspects of the other two.

Rather than black and white pieces and squares, we have red and blue counties and states. Strategy is key; tactics support the strategy. Perhaps the best example of strategy in action involved last year's special US Senate election in Alabama. The allegations against Roy Moore dated back 30 and 40 years; however, they were not heavily publicized until after the GOP primary, when it was too late to vote for, say, Luther Strange. In addition, the allegations were kept relatively secret until after the revelations about Kevin Spacey and Harvey Weinstein, so that #metoo issues were at the forefront of everyone's mind. Like a chess player waiting until her opponent makes a weakening Pawn move to launch an attack, the opponents of Moore waited until just the right time to make the allegations public. We all know the result: Moore went from leading by 10 to being down by 10 and never recovered. Now, in addition to control of the Senate being on a knife's edge in 2018, the Republicans will have to put money, time, and resources into winning back the seat in 2020. I'm sure Republicans still seethe a bit when they think about it: they really were outsmarted and "owned" on this one.

As for politics being a morality play, I feel fortunate that, in my lifetime, I have never experienced major discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation, or any other aspect of "who I am". Perhaps my sense of morality is less strong as a result. I do, however, recall reading of many political misdeeds in my childhood and youth: Nixon's torpedoing the Vietnam peace talks days before the 1968 election; the Watergate break-in and its aftermath; the so-called "Canuck letter" that had Edmund Muskie in tears, ruining his chances; etc. Part of the issue with morality is that different people see it differently: the Religious Right has long seen politics as a struggle between the Good and Virtuous Right against the Secular and Evil Left, while those on the left have seen a similar struggle between the civic-minded, socially conscious Left against a bigoted, insensitive Right.

Finally, there is my least favorite aspect of politics: the cage fight. Perhaps the best example of this is Lee Atwater, Bush's 1988 strategist. Referring to Dukakis, he declared that he would "strip the bark off the little bastard" and "make Willie Horton his running mate". (Young readers: google the reference). On a much smaller scale, Geoffrey Fieger, in his 1998 run for governor of Michigan, referred to Gov. John Engler as "a cross between a human being and a barnyard animal".

While not part of this poll, another aspect of politics I like is the statistical aspect. Politics, like baseball and other sports, is replete with statistics.

So, what do you think? If there is a gap between what politics is and what politics ought to be, feel free to discuss that, too.

[Ban my account ffs!]

anal cancer

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I consider politics a blood sport.

[Co-Chair Bagel23]

smoking weed everyday

[C r a b c a k e]

Making love: you don't talk about it in polite conversation, you debase yourself and it always fills you with deep shame afterwards.

[หมูเด้ง]

Making love: you don't talk about it in polite conversation, you debase yourself and it always fills you with deep shame afterwards.

[หมูเด้ง]

Making love: you don't talk about it in polite conversation, you debase yourself and it always fills you with deep shame afterwards.

And it's like the greatest high and validation of your existence but yet really really icky.

[Sir Mohamed]

... a reality TV show, these days.

[SingingAnalyst]

Wow, 64% so far say cage fight.

Anyone for bridging the is-ought gap? For Dems who say it's like a cage fight, do the Dems need to out-Trump Trump?

[หมูเด้ง]

Wow, 64% so far say cage fight.

Anyone for bridging the is-ought gap? For Dems who say it's like a cage fight, do the Dems need to out-Trump Trump?

We don't want to but if you can't beat them, join them.

[Dr. Arch]

in the U.S.? Like helplessly watching an innocent animal being beat to death.

[Sic Semper Fascistis]

You OP is a bit confusing as to whether you're talking about an objective assessment of what politics is like or a subjective description of our relationship to politics. It goes without saying that the answers to these questions are very different.