RE: Re: [Futurework] All the President's votes?

[Karen Watters Cole]

Please, Arthur, let’s not use the word “hero” with anyone in politics today.  I’m a great believer in mythological heroes, some military heroes, sports heroes, and especially fire fighters, police, medical and science research heroes, and everyday heroes.   Yes, Byrd has a ‘colored past’, as do many old Dixie politicians. He also ‘mended his ways ‘, as did Strom Thurmond, much later, under pressure to do so.  But my religious upbringing urges me to give people a second chance in life. Some don’t always deserve it.  Some even get third chances. Some never last that long and are forever remembered at their worst. There are lots of examples of those.   Of a younger earnest generation, I am intrigued by Dennis Kucinich, who is running for president unafraid of the sticky labels he acquires on the trail. But until now his political work for his home state has been off the national map.  Byrd has made a career of sticking to core Democratic principles, and serves as an elder statesman to his party, which has evolved back and forth since he entered politics.   On a more personal note, I think my former professor, David Boren, ex-Gov. and Senator of Oklahoma has held fast to the moderately conservative wing of the Democratic party, even with all the events since 1970 that changed the political landscape.  He is now Chancellor at Univ of Oklahoma.  I also thought Sam Nunn (D-GA) was top-notch in his time, and has served the country well since then.  I also like Jay Rockefeller and my own Sen. Ron Wyden, a Jew who came to prominence in Oregon after championing the Gray Panthers and who has steadfastly defended Oregonians choice (twice) on right to die legislation when it has been challenged, even though his personal values oppose it.   Many former politicians do better work once they are off the taxpayer’s payroll.  Think of the work Colorado’s party boy Gary Hart and New Hampshire’s xxx ??? have done with terrorism/homeland security issues.  Lee Hamilton also comes to mind, now with the Wilson Center.  The best example today may be Jimmy Carter, whose successes and failures are both deeply tied to his principles.   While in the game, politics is like being a plumber, you have to occasionally get dirty to keep things flowing.  It is the public’s job to be alert and knowledgeable enough to keep an eye on what is exactly flowing, and watchdog groups help. It’s just gotten to be such a big enterprise that many people get dismayed of ever having an impact and they give up trying. - Karen   Arthur wrote: Karen, type in "senator robert byrd" kkk in Google and you will see your hero in a rather different light.   Ed, Harry, these are good comments about the nature of politicians and the public's often naïve expectations about them and by extension, government.    There are still 'politicians with principles' around, and Sen. Bobby Byrd comes quickly to mind, as irascible as he can be.  The trouble with politics is that you do must sometimes compromise and do business with people or issues that you would generally oppose or care not to be identified with.  Representative politics is a process, a system, and requires a lot of flexibility to move forward, as most know, but obviously, some do not.   It is much easier to think of bad examples than good ones, especially because current politics is framed by the neoconservative principle of Attack Gov't and by the media's propensity for highlighting bad over good.  Remember how public servants looked good right after 9/11 when there was reason to honor their sacrifice and work?    Because the business of government is mostly about dispensing money, therefore making priority decisions, there will always be conflict and plenty of misunderstanding.  We have made politics another kind of religion, therefore increasing the likelihood of creating false gods and celebrity impressions, whereas the majority of 'believers', participants in the process, are hard-working and dedicated, if not spectacularly successful or popular.    As amusing and sad as is Arnold's ascension, it is not that different than widows who finish the term of their deceased spouse.  He is just very good with the camera and knows how to manipulate a crowd.  He is playing the "hero comes to the rescue" role.  He has a lot to prove, and no doubt will do his best, but this time the game is real, as in money and lives through policies that are legislated by compromise to reach a consensus.    It's interesting that the two most powerful men in the GOP right now both came from storied wealthy, political families, both are fitness buffs and have/had more personality than experience in politics and depend on a bevy of senior advisors with more brains than brawn to guide them.  If these men came from the Democrat party, current political punditry would be spun much differently.  My grandfather would be shaking his head that this can't be the Republican party.  I have no doubt that future history books will continue to emphasize the significance of the Supreme Court's intervention in our tale of history, and it may never be known just how much complicity was involved.  No doubt, it will not be just fiction writers who will speculate how the US government would be had the outcome been different. - KWC   Ed wrote: Harry, my problem is that I'm not very sophisticated.  I hold to a naive belief that politicians should operate from a body of principles and not be elected simply because they project the kind of image that appears right at the moment.  When I was a kid in rural Saskatchewan, there were politicians with principles around.  But that is a bygone era, as long ago as the stone age.   Harry wrote: Ed, Catching up after completely changing my E-Mail set-up. > > After bringing me up-to-date on Canadian politics, you said: > > ">I've snipped the rest of your posting because I'm still hoping > to wake > >up to find that the election of Ahnold Schwarzenegger was some > kind of > >comic dream!  If it isn't, all one can say is the people deserve > the > >kind of government they elect." > > I think your remark about Schwarzenegger is an indication that we > have elevated politicians into a kind of nobility. The Lords and > Ladies knew they were born to the purple. That the commoners were > not only a class apart but also somewhat inferior. Certainly, not > material for the upperclass. > > I think that a similar attitude has led to the sneering at Arnold > even as Ronald was sneered at in his time. They were not > politicians, so how can they aspire to the role of leading the > country -- or even a State? > > A favorite painting of mine is hung somewhere in Capitol building > (I think). It is a picture of George Washington handing back his > letters of commission to Congress. He had completed the job of > throwing out the English, and was now going home. > > I wish politicians would think in terms of going home. As it is, > they like to stay in power forever. Al Gore finished college, did > a short stint in Vietnam, spent a year in divinity school, and in > his late twenties went to Congress. That's where he spent his > time until he was defeated by Bush. > > He is without doubt the professional politician. We don't really > elect people to represent us. Rather, they elect themselves and > quite right  for who could possibly do the job better than they. > People like Reagan and Schwarzenegger, not to mention Jesse > Ventura, are interlopers. > > They shouldn't be allowed to into the Halls of the Godly. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>