COLUMN: Beyond the Olympics

while politics and world news may not be as exciting as the Olympics, they are just as important. After the pageantry of the Olympics, returning to regular programming on NBC is almost a letdown for many people, including me, this week. Millions of viewers tuned in to see Kerri Strug hop on one leg, Michael Johnson run like the wind and Amy Van Dyken swim her way to multiple golds. For two weeks, despite all the complaining about commercialism, NBC's coverage and Atlanta's transportation problems, nothing else mattered. I'd come home from work, and immediately flip on the television. Then my family and I would sit, completely enamored of the entire spectacle, for hours on end. Families across the country did the same thing. Now, all of that has come to an end. But now, I wonder, how many of those viewers who spent night after night cheering their favorites on, will tune into the main event in television coverage next week? How many even know that the Republican Convention is beginning in San Diego on Monday? How many, more importantly, care? It's incredible to me that for two weeks, Americans can be as patriotic as they come, shouting "Go USA" at their TV sets, while in the next few weeks, those very same people will have no or little interest in the future of the country they support so vigorously. It's ironic, in a way, that the Summer Olympics coincide with presidential election years. After all, no matter how much campaign stumping Bob Dole has done in the last two weeks, how many bills Congress was trying to pass or how many times President Bill Clinton was trying to act presidential in the hopes of getting votes, most American citizens could really care less since they have something supposedly more important to watch. Instead of choosing presidential candidates, they've been trying to decide which sport they like best: softball, diving, rowing or table tennis. Welfare reform? What's that? There's nothing wrong with putting life aside to get caught up in something like the Olympics, though it would be nice if people realized that life throughout the world went on even when athletes were gathering to participate in world competition. But now the Olympics are over. And sadly, I think many people -- way too many people -- are not going to pay any more attention to news, politics and the world around them now than they did during the Olympics, when what mattered most was who the Dream Team was going to beat next? November is only a few short months away and the presidential election is usually first shaped by the upcoming conventions. In 1992, President George Bush found himself in a deep quandary when Pat Buchanan angered many and offended others with his convention speech. President Clinton, however, showed himself to be a "new" candidate ready for change. Vice President Al Gore didn't even look as stiff during those few days. But for most Americans, the next important thing on television will be fall premieres of their favorite sitcoms. News-wise, the only piece of important information to many fans of the USA is whether Kerri Strug will give up her amateur status -- or maybe, just maybe, the results of the TWA Flight 800 investigation. Neither convention gets gavel to gavel coverage on a station like NBC -- you can only get that on CSPAN, or maybe CNN. And they aren't as exciting or invigorating as Johnson's 200 meter dash. But they're just as important -- if not more so -- to us as Americans. A quick look at The Daily Pennsylvanian or even, if you're brave, The Philadelphia Inquirer or The New York Times might help, even if you can no longer check the medal count list. Call me a political science nerd or just call me a journalist, but I know that I will be glued to my television set as Dole announces his running mate, and Clinton tries to salvage a presidency that's received such mixed reviews. They may not have the drama or tears of an Olympian's dreams, but the conventions and campaigning and debating will determine, at least in part, the direction our country will take in the next four years -- where we'll be when we are gearing up for the Olympics in Sydney. At least give it a flip of the remote. Then maybe stay there for a few minutes and watch. The Republican convention starts on Monday and the Democrats begin their hurrah on August 26. Stay tuned.

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