By PLS
Having been employed by a federal agency for nearly 25 years, I get really tired of people running down the performance of the U.S. government in toto. I was surrounded by people who performed conscientiously for salaries far less than they'd have received in the private sector. My co-workers (and those in other agencies and departments) worked very hard indeed, and they were dedicated to making government work for their fellow citizens. This means I have no patience for those who puff themselves up by crudely vilifying Washington, even as I strongly support those who identify actual malfeasance and work to punish betrayals of the public trust.
So, at election time I quickly lose patience with candidates who run against Washington in order to go to Washington. Barak Obama is the latest. As president he's going to change everything from awful to wonderful. You know. Jesus in the temple of beltway money changers.
Unfortunately for his Mr. Smith image, he has just given the game away. Here’s a quote from Naftali Bendavid’s story, which first appeared in Obama’s hometown paper the Chicago Tribune. It has to do with Obama’s sour reaction to his defeat in New Hampshire. He brags about his home town and what it taught him about playing politics:
Obama is not likely to alter his message of change, but he did promise Wednesday to fight back hard against Clinton’s campaign in coming weeks. “I come from Chicago politics—we’re accustomed to rough and tumble,” Obama said....
Yes indeed. State politics is even rougher and more corrupt than national politics. Obama’s Chicago and Illinois are notorious for machine politics. Boston and New York aren’t far behind. As for Texas most anything goes, and l’il old New Mexico isn’t exactly free of dirty politics. Seems to me there are credible tales of vote tampering in Florida and Ohio, and—need I go on? Does anyone really believe that government in Washington has a monopoly on corruption?
The point I’m trying to make is that any candidate who’s nurtured in state politics, then makes a bid for national office by running against Washington is nothing more than an example of the pot calling the kettle black. It’s pure demagoguery.
It’s bad psychology, too. If you really do want to make change, you don’t get cooperation by rushing in and telling people how unredeemably incompetent they are.
There's time, Barak. If you want to make changes, tell us precisely what you want to change and how you plan to do it.