BloggeRhythms 5/22/2012

I went through an odd few days, beginning on last weekend when a friend sent me a YouTube link to a speech made last December by Cory Booker, Democrat Mayor of Newark, New Jersey. In it, Booker was addressing a group of folks about the holidays and I thought came as across as bright, articulate, witty and extremely well-informed. And I must admit, I’d never seen nor heard of him before and was very impressed, especially because I sensed he might indeed be a harbinger of future politicians who actually care about their constituents.

Then, the very next day, I came across Booker again, this time due to his appearance on Meet the Press wherein he chastised the president's reelection team over its ad campaign attacking Mitt Romney's record at Bain Capital. Booker said, “I just have to say from a very personal level, I'm not about to sit here and indict private equity," referring to the ad which spotlighted the story of a Kansas City steel company that went bankrupt after Bain Capital's involvement. "If you look at the totality of Bain Capital's record, they've done a lot to support businesses, to grow businesses. And this, to me, I'm very uncomfortable with."

He went on to state that, "This is not about what happened at Bain Capital. Heck, I've reduced the employees in my city 25 percent because it's the only way my government would survive. Call me a job-cutter, if you want."

In fairness, he also criticized a now-scuttled Republican proposal to run ads once again tying the incumbent to his controversial former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, as well as the Bain ad. And in that regard, Booker stated, "This kind of stuff is nauseating to me on both sides. It's nauseating to the American public. Enough is enough. Stop attacking private equity. Stop attacking Jeremiah Wright. This stuff has got to stop, because what it does is it undermines, to me, what this country should be focused on. It's a distraction from the real issues."

So, here I was reading the words of a guy who came across as a breath of fresh air amidst the lowest life forms on earth, politicians, and was actually looking forward to tracking him in the future to see what kind of career he’d build for himself. And then, that very evening, my whole pipe dream fell apart because someone in the White House must have gotten to him.

 Because later that same evening, Sunday, according to the Associated Press, Booker released a YouTube video in which he said it is "reasonable" for the Obama campaign to examine Romney's business record since Romney himself has made it "a centerpiece of his campaign."

Thus we have someone here, Booker, who for a very short span came across as someone I’d vote for in a heartbeat, regardless of party because of his even-handed approach and especially realistic outlook on business. And then in the very same day, he bows to pressure applied from his party leaders and turns himself into just another political hack. So I guess that even for the very best in office, you can take the guy out of the party for a moment, but you can’t ever take the party out of the guy.

That’s it for today folks.

Adios