The more exposure the folks in office get, the more you wonder how our country runs at all with them in so-called leadership positions. And, as light gets shown brighter on them, the more inane and patently absurd their comments get.
Charles Rangel was finally adjudicated today, and he's facing censure. Part of his response was that he hopes that his forty years in office of "service" will be considered in his sentencing. And, I for one, hope they do consider his entire career. Because he's been tried on stuff he did recently, so the chances are he's been stealing, self-serving and covering up for a whole lot longer than that. So, let's put his whole public career under investigation, because then he'll likely go to Leavenworth for life.
Then I read about comments made by Jay Rockefeller, Senator from West Virginia. He's chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and apparently he blew a fuse over cable news for creating "a politically toxic climate in DC." And in a "stunning tirade" he expressed his desire to see the Federal Communications Commission shut down Fox News and MSNBC.
During a Senate hearing on retransmission consent, he said "There's a little bug inside of me which wants to get the FCC to say to Fox and to MSNBC, 'Out. Off. End. Goodbye. It would be a big favor to political discourse; to our ability to do our work here in Congress; and to the American people, to be able to talk with each other and have some faith in their government and, more importantly, in their future."
I suppose what he means is that without the prying eyes and ears of the media, he'd then be able to tell the public whatever he wanted, avoiding the nagging pressure of being forced to divulge the details, or perhaps, tell the truth. And I can surely imagine his quandary, because now with coverage everywhere he goes, he has to do his job by the book, and worse, he now has to do what he was elected to do which he never had to consider before.
Then, although it's early, there are early rumblings about possible presidential candidates in 2012. And, naturally, one of those testing the water is Sarah Palin, who's been getting much exposure through her Tea Party affiliation. But, I think that right now isn't the time for someone with no real experience to rely on. And while making public appearances and getting crowds to rant and rave may have some sort of value, that's not going to help much against another terrorist attack. And, it's certainly not going to overcome the budget deficit or find people jobs.
To paraphrase Michael Douglas in the movie, American President, these are serious times with serious problems that need serious people to solve them, and in that regard Ms Palin's 15 minutes may soon be up. Perhaps that's what Karl Rove meant when he wrote yesterday "Republicans should sober up. It is always difficult to defeat a sitting president. Since World War II, three have been defeated for re-election and two decided not to run again. But five have sought and won second terms."
And as for me, if it came down to the president, who by then would have four years under his belt versus an unskilled lightweight like her, I wouldn't be surprised a bit if he won re-election in a landslide.
That's it for today folks.
Adios
No comments:
Post a Comment