From a nonpartisan point of view, the 2012 election campaign has been an interesting one, to say the least. The latest topic of discussion revolves around Mitt Romney’s comments regarding the “47% of people who do not pay income taxes” and those who take advantage of government benefits.

This most recent line is just one of the dozens of ridiculous statements made so far this year by both Romney and Obama.  The art of rhetoric is totally lost in this new age of ten second sounds bytes and social media campaigns.  But all the blame cannot be put on the candidates.  Modern technology, including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, has changed Americans’ view of communication.  Politicians don’t have to be efficient communicators today.  In fact, they intentionally do not use much rhetoric because the complete thoughts, well-structured arguments and thorough discussions are not what the general public wants to hear.  The public wants emotionally driven one-liners that they can latch on to.  The public doesn’t want a calm, organized, civilized debate.  The public wants a slanderous advertising battle full of false claims.  This situation cannot be entirely blamed on the politicians.  However, they are at fault in the matter.

Is this what politics is ultimately about? Absolutely not. The public does not demand politicians to use rhetoric.  However, politicians have the power to restore rhetoric in today’s political world.  It is unnecessary and preposterous for politicians to simply say what donors want to hear.  Candidates should speak about their beliefs and what they truly want to do for the country, not what they think will generate the most income for the campaign.

Unfortunately, that is not how the political world works today.  Until one politician, or group or politicians is willing to take the risk and restore the use of rhetoric, nothing will change.  The change has to be initiated by the people at the top. Obama and Romney are both extremely intelligent, educated men.  They are more than fully capable of communicating effectively and with diction.  They, along with everyone in Washington must bring about the change. Otherwise, before we know it, debates will be held over Skype and press releases will be distributed through Twitter. Rhetoric needs to find its way back into politics.