Nov. 6, 2012, sounds like a long way down the road when you first hear it. That’s probably because it is – it’s almost 19 months from now. A lot will happen between now and then, including political campaigning for the 2012 elections. It’s going to become more constant as the date draws closer, but we are now stuck with a stream of it for the next year-and-a-half of our lives.

Political campaigning sucks.

Trust me, I know. I grew up with a mother who served as a state representative, and for much of my elementary, all my middle school, and part of my high school life, I was a first-hand witness to what a drag it truly is.

We pounded in so many lawn signs the smell of rebar still makes me nauseous. We wore holes in our Nikes walking streets and driveways dropping campaign fliers into front doors – never giving the feet a break by walking on the yard. No respectable representative’s campaigners would trample their constituents’ well-tended grass.

We were fast. We were efficient. We were good. Mostly because we did it so often. A state representative’s term lasts just two years, so by the time the session is over they have to turn right back around and start campaigning to keep their job. We used to joke that we spent more time campaigning to keep my mom in her representative’s office than she actually spent serving there, but it really wasn’t a joke. Even as a freshman in high school, I was able to clearly see there is something very wrong with this country’s campaign process.

Can you imagine any other career where you spend half the time actually doing your job, and the other half making direct appeals to your boss that you should be allowed to continue? It would be like 9-5 post office workers sorting mail until 1 p.m. every day and then spending the rest of the afternoon in their supervisors’ offices convincing them what a great job they did and that they should be allowed to come back the next morning and work from 9-1 again.

Now, I understand there is a bit more weight in choosing who is going to represent you than there is in who sorts your mail. Voters should have access to all the information they need to make informed decisions about who they want making legislation choices that affect all aspects of their lives.

But the process of getting that information to them is messed up.

On Sunday, an article in the New York Times described Chicago’s re-emergence as President Barack Obama’s headquarters while his “2012 campaign takes shape.” This coming less than 48 hours after the government nearly shuts down? Brutal.

It’s more than 19 months from election day next November and not even 27 months since Obama was sworn in as president. So barely halfway through his presidency, Obama and his team are gearing up for another presidential run. That’s ludicrous. And if it’s anything like 2008, the amount of money that is spent campaigning for the election will be mind-boggling.

A 2008 Politico article stated that between Obama and Republican candidate John McCain, more than $1 billion was spent campaigning. The article also says that figure is a 27 percent increase from the 2004 campaign. I’m pretty sure you can’t chalk that one up to inflation; it’s a runaway train.

Our state’s very own former governor Tim Pawlenty announced in March that he was launching an “exploratory committee” for a possible 2012 presidential candidacy. What is that? You’re either going to run for president or you’re not.

Things like an exploratory committee 20 months before an election only push the timetable further back to the point that candidates feel they have to start working to get elected. They might as well go to their future opponent’s office, point at them and yell out Achilles-style in “Troy” that they’re coming for them, and they had better get ready. Now.

It’s like Dr. Seuss’ “The Butter Battle Book,” where both sides continuously push each other to bigger and more dramatic action. Every election the campaign machines start revving up earlier and earlier, devouring more and more money. It’s not right. What could be a simple process has turned into a monster.

Candidates should look to answer the same simple questions many go through in any job interview: What have you done in the past that shows you are qualified for this position? What do you plan on doing if you are chosen for this position? How can you improve this organization?

It doesn’t take years and billions of dollars to answer those kinds of questions. With the incredible amounts of mass media platforms at candidates’ disposal, it should be easier than ever to get voters the information they need. Instead, it takes more time and more money every election to get it done, and more than a year-and-a-half from the 2012 election, there are already signs this election won’t reverse that trend. There’s something very wrong with that.

Jordan Osterman can be reached at jrosterman@stthomas.edu.