In this world, we see all kinds of
people getting involved in politics. Husbands, Fathers, Activists,
and so many more. Yes, also Wives, Mothers, and Daughters. We see
all sorts of people becoming involved, but really... what marks the
true capability of a politician?
We see people aiming for the top
political offices in our country all of the time. Sometimes, the
candidate makes it as high as Congress simply because nobody else in
his district had the time or inclination to try. Other times, we see
the candidate stand strong, holding fiercely to his beliefs, a pillar
of strength. And then, we see politicians vie for public office just
because “I can do it better!”
“I can do it better!” seems to be
the main battle cry, lately. After all, if a politician tries to
stand firmly on an issue, the other politician will dig for something
negative within that issue. Abortion vs Pro-Life. Religious
Freedoms vs Separation of Church and State. Taxes vs... well, other
Taxes. Reduction of taxes is seldom promised, and even more seldom
something anyone can follow through with. Bush number 1 did a pretty
good job, lasting as long as he did on that issue.
“I can do it better!”
Sure. I'll stand up there, and repeal
the laws that clog the system, shovel out the glut of Government
Employment and Agencies that basically either don't do anything, or
are just there to back-up and duplicate other agencies. At the same
time, I'll push laws through that limit the government's ability to
spy on our citizen's private lives. I'll push legal guarantees
through Congress so that we can protect our citizen's privacy for
generations to come. I'll make sure you can go to the bathroom
without a federal agency watching.
Yeah. I can do it better. If I didn't
have to attempt all of those things with the full might of the
American Government standing against me. If I didn't have to turn
into a Politician, first.
Weirdly, we have “I can do it better”
people who actually are politicians. People who want to enter our
nation's highest office, standing on a soapbox of “I can do it
better.” This is a pretty small soapbox, people. When the
opposition is standing on a soapbox of “I've been doing it already,
and I'm going to protect what I've done no matter how bad it is,”
the soapbox of “I can do it better!” is pretty small, indeed.
So, what is it that marks a truly
capable politician, then?
Taking a stance. Taking a stance on
something. Anything. Doing This, or Undoing That. Fixing what's
broken. Only... don't fix, and don't undo. Instead, you're
implementing a plan to improve the efficiency of the legal process
and lower the overall cost of your government. You're taking a
stance on personal freedoms. You'll stand between all comers, and
protect the citizen's Constitutional Rights. You're the Champion of
Civil Liberties. The Protector of Privacy.
And maybe you take a stand on something
even more incendiary than that. But these days, taking a stand on
something as basic as privacy, or civil liberties, or even our
constitutional rights is pretty incendiary.
Good luck, out there.
I don't know if it was Obama's idea, or someone in his political campaign, but he's really screwing up in a big way. I don't know if you've seen this, but his campaign is selling t-shirts and limited edition prints of new version of the American Flag. It comprises a combination of a poorly painted set of pale red lines (as opposed to the bold, straight lines of the flag) with the field of stars replaced with the pale blue insignia of the Obama campaign. 
I've seen two versions of this flag. One, in the shape of the flag, and the other, in the general shape of the United States - minus Alaska, Hawaii, and possessions. Sorry, guys. You'd think he'd want to include Hawaii, since he's selling mugs and other goodies on the campaign website that have photocopies of his birth certificate: "Made in the USA." That's quite a slogan. Unfortunately, I doubt the slogan has anything at all to do with keeping manufacturing inside the United States. 
Interestingly, since this story jumped into the news just the other day, the Obama campaign has removed these parodies of the flag from their website, and taken the merchandise down, as well. It's good to see the offending flag taken down, but for many Americans, the Obama flag will be a flag of warning. After all, what sort of person goes around changing the flag of his country? Historically... not good.
