Much of the press delight in pronouncing that the silly-season has begun as a general election approaches. What they fail to advise is the role they play in hyping this alleged silliness through uncritical thinking and superficial coverage. In news stories and editorials some in the press endlessly regurgitate intellectual fallacies rather than providing context and in-depth analysis.
Excusing or cheering on Bamboo Town MP Branville McCartney's jeer of "Old man, sit down" directed at South Abaco MP Edison Key betrays a juvenile and ahistorical mind-set. It smacks of ageism and various unfounded prejudices about the nature of leadership, political and otherwise.
The requirement of leadership, whether national or in fields as diverse as journalism or business, is to find the best possible person who is available at the time. It is not about giving someone "a chance" to fulfil their personal ambition or to satisfy their narcissism and overweening ego.
The New York Times recently appointed Jill Abramson as its first female Executive Editor in its 160-year history. Abramson, 57, was appointed on merit. She earned her new post through decades of exemplary writing and skills as a manager. Age and maturity count for quite a bit when hard judgements must be made. Youthful energy is a good thing. But it is no substitute for experience.
Seasoning
Bill Clinton, who became the third youngest American president at 46, has often noted that he feels that he came to the presidency too young, and that he could have done with more seasoning as a politician and as a human being before assuming the office.
Then there is the other Clinton, Hillary, now 64. A woman of great intellect, with considerable experience in domestic and foreign policy as well as the legislative and executive branches. Few doubt her qualifications to lead the world's superpower, whether or not you agree with her philosophically.
Only the most arrogant, idiotic and disrespectful sophomoric politician would tell her, "Old woman, sit down". And, no seasoned editor or journalist would excuse such a churlish jeer as appropriate.
Still, experience and youth often come together in impressive ways. Such may be the case with the new 39-year-old Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who has been afforded a chance by his more senior cabinet, parliamentary and party colleagues to prove himself a capable leader. He succeeds the eminently capable Bruce Golding who demitted office for various reasons.
Golding, who will be 64 next month, had a generally successful tenure including the negotiation of a historic debt exchange for Jamaica and improvements in education, healthcare and national security.
Despite the 25-year age difference, what Golding and Holness have in common is talent, the support of their political colleagues, parliamentary experience and significant years in the trenches of Jamaican political life.
Those who aspire to be president of the United States go through rigorous scrutiny in a gruelling primary process and campaign with intense press scrutiny. Likewise, those who aspire to become the Bahamian prime minister must also be scrutinized and tested by the processes of party government in our parliamentary democracy.
The prime ministership is not for the faint-of-heart and fickle, those easily rattled and stunned because the world does not see them as special and precious. The coverage and commentary on Branville McCartney has only been excessive for those who expected a coronation or believe that much of the nonsense he has uttered should go unexamined.
The examination of his leadership abilities and pronouncements has nothing to do with anyone being remotely afraid of the Democratic National Alliance (DNA) and its leader. It has everything to do with whose hands in which Bahamians are willing to place their national security, economic future and long-term well-being.
Gloating
The problem has been how poorly the DNA has been examined in various gloating news coverage and superficial editorials. What is the true nature and disturbing mindset of a party that would ban by constitutional amendment the children of illegal migrants having access to Bahamian citizenship?
How would The New York Times in the United States or The Times in Great Britain editorialize of respectively an American or British politician who uttered such xenophobic and racist nonsense? The problem is that there has been too much of a press pass for such demagoguery.
When the well-respected Dr. B. J. Nottage led the third party Coalition for Democratic Reform he was taken seriously because he was a serious man of good intellect, substantial ideas, moderation, judgement and experience. At age 66 he would probably still make a finer leader than most of his juniors in the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP).
In the end, it's not just a question of age in choosing a prime minister, newspaper editor or CEO. It's a question of ability, judgement and experience. Is there any doubt that a Sean McWeeney would be a better prime minister than a newcomer like Frank Smith? Or for that matter, whether a seasoned Hubert Ingraham can run circles around and outwork the younger Branville McCartney?
Thankfully, columnists get to write pretty much what they want as they are expressing a viewpoint, whether one considers it partisan or not. Editorial writers express the views of a newspaper, not, one trusts, their own.
Readers understand the difference between a commentary and an editorial. One trusts that editorialists are capable of distinguishing the same. Alas, once again, experience and good judgement are critical in discerning differences, eschewing hyperbole for analysis, and examining the glitz and glamour which are no substitute for tested leadership.
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