"Good grief! What is the world has happened to us?"
Is anyone really surprised that the approval rating for Congress is only slightly better than a case of the Shingles? According to a recently released NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, a record 83 percent of all Americans disapprove of the job Congress is doing. In addition, 57 percent think that each and every one should be fired and replaced. The President has not escaped this drubbing - the poll numbers for his job approval are in the low 40's.
Not that I want to "pile on", but if you want a good poster child for what is wrong with our country's leadership, look no further than Anthony Wiener. Right now he should be a dead man walking (politically). Instead, he is a top contender to be the mayor of our largest city. I am not going to soil this post by going into the tawdry behaviors this man has demonstrated. He was not proud of what he did, but it was not going to stop him. In fact, it took almost every "friend" he had in Washington to convince him to resign from Congress after he was "outed".
What we have recently learned about politicians like Wiener is this - first behave poorly, next get accused, then LIE LIKE A RUG, then apologize. That's cool. Lets move on. Actually, what we have learned is the main stream media, and I am afraid many of us, appreciate a good liar. I remember clearly when President Clinton was caught red handed lying about his affair with an intern. Under oath, mind you. The House Republicans were incensed and filed Articles of Impeachment. The Senate, on the other hand, voted not to remove. Lets move on, shall we?
The press was almost giddy that Clinton escaped from this self inflicted wound. One of the "deans" of the press corps referred to the "slick one" as an "incredibly good liar". A woman representing a major woman's organization wondered what the big deal was. She was so happy for what Clinton had done for the "movement", she wanted to also give him a "Lewinsky" out of appreciation. Woman's movement? This guy lied to not only his country, but also his wife. He lied to her and cheated on her.
The list goes on and on. Republicans and Democrats. Many are scoundrels, many are bad actors, all have egos the size of Montana. Very few can we can point out to our kids as role models. Veracity and valor seem to missing in action.
As I close this sad article, I think of Wiener's presser yesterday where he paraded his wife out with him. I am not a big fan of his wife's, but I felt very sorry for her. Nobody deserves that kind of humiliation. Like Clinton, Wiener lied to our country and lied to her. His behavior, although different than Clinton's, is equally reprehensible.
The French political philosopher, Alexis de Tocqueville, said that in a democracy, we get the government we deserve. I don't know what we did to deserve this type of government. Maybe it was ignorance and apathy. Maybe it was just not paying attention. We and our children deserve better - so, so much better.
Not that I want to "pile on", but if you want a good poster child for what is wrong with our country's leadership, look no further than Anthony Wiener. Right now he should be a dead man walking (politically). Instead, he is a top contender to be the mayor of our largest city. I am not going to soil this post by going into the tawdry behaviors this man has demonstrated. He was not proud of what he did, but it was not going to stop him. In fact, it took almost every "friend" he had in Washington to convince him to resign from Congress after he was "outed".
What we have recently learned about politicians like Wiener is this - first behave poorly, next get accused, then LIE LIKE A RUG, then apologize. That's cool. Lets move on. Actually, what we have learned is the main stream media, and I am afraid many of us, appreciate a good liar. I remember clearly when President Clinton was caught red handed lying about his affair with an intern. Under oath, mind you. The House Republicans were incensed and filed Articles of Impeachment. The Senate, on the other hand, voted not to remove. Lets move on, shall we?
The press was almost giddy that Clinton escaped from this self inflicted wound. One of the "deans" of the press corps referred to the "slick one" as an "incredibly good liar". A woman representing a major woman's organization wondered what the big deal was. She was so happy for what Clinton had done for the "movement", she wanted to also give him a "Lewinsky" out of appreciation. Woman's movement? This guy lied to not only his country, but also his wife. He lied to her and cheated on her.
The list goes on and on. Republicans and Democrats. Many are scoundrels, many are bad actors, all have egos the size of Montana. Very few can we can point out to our kids as role models. Veracity and valor seem to missing in action.
As I close this sad article, I think of Wiener's presser yesterday where he paraded his wife out with him. I am not a big fan of his wife's, but I felt very sorry for her. Nobody deserves that kind of humiliation. Like Clinton, Wiener lied to our country and lied to her. His behavior, although different than Clinton's, is equally reprehensible.
The French political philosopher, Alexis de Tocqueville, said that in a democracy, we get the government we deserve. I don't know what we did to deserve this type of government. Maybe it was ignorance and apathy. Maybe it was just not paying attention. We and our children deserve better - so, so much better.
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