We are well into the election season and I along with others was lamenting the length and cost of the process in the US. In Europe, it seems, campaigns are only a month or two long. A short election cycle sounds like a good idea but as I thought about it I realized it has a flaw. In a two month campaign we could elect a slick talking but dangerous person like John Edwards. In a one or two year campaign it is a lot harder for people with bad ideas or just smoke and mirrors to get through all of the hurdles. So the permanent campaign may be a price we have to pay to select the people most likely to be able to run the country.