Campaigns are always a time for cheap populism and kowtowing to single-issue fundamentalists. Perhaps what really matters is what happens after a candidate takes office: the quality of the checks and balances within which he or she operates, the advice offered, the decisions taken, and, ultimately, the policies pursued.
另外一个可能性则是大选中的言论和行为只会对一个政体的健康产生很小影响。选举往往是迎合一个低俗民粹主义以及对单一事务极端主义者拍马屁的时期。或许真正重要的是一位候选人当选总统的所作所为：他执政下的政府权力制衡，所给出的建议，所做的决策，最终则是所追求的政策。