Time for ANA politics

By this time next week I will be in Portland, Ore., for the National Money Show held by the American Numismatic Association.

Fortunately for me, this trip does not involve jet lag as my recent trip to Berlin did, but a two-hour time difference is still enough so that my stomach growls at inopportune times.

Politics will be in the air. It is the ANA election year. There will be a candidate forum. I chose not to be a part of it in any official questioner or moderator capacity because it is impossible to both cover an event and be a part of it at the same time.

While I understand why candidate forums are held, usually the field is so large that the participants get little time to really say anything that would help a voter make up his or her mind.

Those persons who attend will probably come out feeling the same way as they did going in.

I could be wrong. Someone could fly off the handle and display a temperament that is not congruent with being a good hobby politician, but other than that there usually is little meat, if past forums are any guide.

Why do I go?

Well, you just never know, now do you?