True Politicians

Yesterday I wrote about something revolutionary: politicians aren’t bad!

Oh, the horror!

The definition of politician I used was simply: “a person experienced in the art or science of government”; suggesting someone that is an experienced and knowledgeable person who knows a lot about government. That government is an “art” and a “science”. The suggestion is that government requires certain skills, knowledges, and experiences that are unique to itself.

These are the reasons we don’t hire Orkin men (like Tom Delay), but lawyers and teachers (the two most prominent professions for politicians). We hire smart people that know how to research and think about their actions. We look for people that respect the institution and view the politics of government to be a hallowed place.

Or at least we used to.

Our understanding of politician representing the second definition on the website:

2 a: a person engaged in party politics as a profession

b: a person primarily interested in political office for selfish or other narrow usually short-sighted reasons

seems much more recent. In a post-1994 world, we elect people that disrespect “the art or science of government”. We elect people that not only lack the skills and knowledges required for the job, we actively oppose those that do. We seem to want the least qualified and the most destructive people in office. This position was personified to an incredible degree with the coronation of George W. Bush, who served as a clown king of the Imperial States of America. The primary aptitude he possessed: more fun at a barbecue.

We seemed to think it was a legitimate option for Pres. Bush to appoint people to lead organizations that were actively working to either destroy the organization or disrupt its work: big polluter lobbyists to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, pharmaceutical CEOs to head the Food and Drug Administration, and John Bolton, UN-hater extraordinaire to be our rep to the United Nations. We didn’t object because we seem to regard this as business as usual!

Here’s a thought. Maybe we should elect people that respect the office to which we have elected them! Maybe experienced politicians can represent a knowledge and skill that is necessary from the profession! Maybe we can pull our heads out of our asses long enough to notice when a politician is doing a good job!

And this one goes to the Clintonistas: maybe change in Washington is not a question of experience but integrity! How novel!