So as not to sidetrack the other thread about Tucson (any more than have already done so) I'm starting a new one.

Something Kevin said there touched a bit of a nerve with me. He wondered why it is we find it so hard to say anything non-negative about our President and other political leaders.

And it crystallized something for me. (And, doubtless will illustrate to everyone, again, how strange/obscene my thinking tends to be.)

You see, I think we give far too much importance to politicians and political "leaders" in the scheme of things. They may be a necessary evil -- I'll go so far as to admit they serve necessary functions in the scheme of things as it stands. But however necessary they might be, they are still an "evil" to be tolerated. They are not to be celebrated. They are not to be encouraged.

They're like lawyers. (Indeed, it's not surprising that they are dominated by lawyers.) They're hired guns to do the dirty work we don't want to do ourselves directly.

I'm sorry, Kevin, but I don't think we are negative often enough about them.

I fully understand that there would be a public outcry if the President didn't make a public appearance and say something about the tragedy in Arizona. And I don't blame him for doing so. To me, the problem is that there would be a public outcry.

The problem is with us. The problem is that we expect the President or Senators or whatnot to do these sorts of things. The problem is that we consider the President or Senator as having some sort of special, more important to listen to than others actually impacted by a particular tragedy.

In my opinion, and I know this will grate on most if not all of you, we need to stop thinking of the President as some kind grandparent, a wise patriarch whose opinion matters on everything. Whose every utterance should be newsworthy or worthy of national notice.

I have no problem with "Barack Obama" going to eulogize a judge who was important to him or to visit a Congresswoman he considers important. But I have a problem with *us* thinking it should matter whether "President Obama" gives that eulogy or makes that visit or not.

Wyatt Earp by many accounts was nothing more than a necessary evil. An asshole and thug who was hired to do the dirty work of cleaning up even badder guys. F Lee Bailey and Johnny Cochran were people whose business it was to do dirty work that needs to be done by someone to ensure the system works semi-well.

But the necessity of gunmen-sheriffs or criminal defense attorneys doesn't mean they should be celebrated or given influence more than people who do things that aren't necessary evils.

And neither should our national political leaders.

Because, in my opinion, every stinking one of them has done more bad than Earp, Bailey, and Cochran put together. The evils they have necessarily done on our behalf (against each other) are far greater than any single gun-toting lawman or defense lawyer ever will.

So, quite frankly and sincerely, I don't want people spending more time saying good things about our politicians.

Sorry, Kevin, but on this I must stay an asshole.

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I've been through too much in my life to waste my time being negative on something I have absolutely no control over, or full knowledge about. I don't know what goes on behind the scenes. I don't know what its like to be in politics. I don't know what it's like to have the pressure of being the "most powerful man in the world" or whatever label the US President is given.

That also plays in line with why I have a hard time putting all the blame/credit on players, or coaches, or general managers in sports. I played a lot of sports growing up, and I mean a lot, it was the only thing I could do as good or better than others. I wasn't smarter, I wasn't better looking, I wasn't bigger, I wasn't faster but god damn no one had more heart than I did, NO ONE.

With that said, how can I just blast someone in a position I don't know all the circumstances? I don't know their shortcomings, I don't know their strengths, I don't know what they've overcome, or are trying to over come. I don't know their hardships, I don't know how much they got with a silver spoon, etc.

There's just too many things that are unknown for me to waste my time, my energy and my effort into being negative about someone's job. I often ask myself before critiquing someone else, could I do better, how would I do it? Why?

The fact is, no politician will ever make every one happy and that fact is what seems to drive peoples pessimism of hate and that does not sit well with me.

Maybe I'm weak, maybe I'm naive, I'm sure I'm ignorant on the subject, but if I ripped into this guy and found out he spent 80 hours a week in the office trying to make our country better and my only contribution was bitching about it on a forum, I'd feel like a waste of time.

I'd rather focus my time, my energy, my effort into making this country better by anyway I can than I would sitting down at personal computer slamming keys of pessimism.


Be sure, I do respect everyone's standpoint on politics, I just don't agree with some.

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I heard Sean Hannity go on for a full 3 minutes last night saying nothing but positive things about Obama's speech/reaction to the Tuscon situation. Granted, I think he's the most reasonable of Hannity/Limbaugh/Levinn by far, but he's still a fair amount further right than I am and needs to be melodramatic for ratings.

But still, this pundit can find good things to say about the man? Granted, when he was done he questioned the honesty of some of his statements on political civility based on past actions, but the point I'm trying to make is that this is EXACTLY what we need.

I really, really disapprove of Obama on many of his economic policies, a few foreign policy decisions, and a lot of what he has said. However, I think it is incredibly important that nobody dismiss Obama just because he's Obama, and just decide to disagree with everything he says. We can disagree with a man while still judging his actions on a case by case basis.

For those of you on the right, how annoying did the Blame Bush For Everything get, and how annoying is it to still hear people blame Bush at every opportunity? Don't flip that around, and don't try to justify it. People need to be less PC, but we also need to be more civil and open-minded. We can disagree with people without trying to villify them. If they're so wrong, why don't you prove that you're right?

You do have control over it Zero. You'd be surprised how much power you have. I used to have a lot of power when I was a political activist. Then got sidetracked by raising a family. Ralph Nader is right - it's pretty freaking hard to do both.

Good rant Wade. We should be pissed off MORE, not less.

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It's funny you mentioned Wyatt Earp, Wade. You send in wolves to lock up the wolves (a little RJD for you Diggs), you don't send a flock of politically correct sheep. Arizona & Mexico might be a nice place to get a tan and pound some Quervo, but I don't want any part of that drug war.

I don't need Obama to do anything for me, and I don't Rush to bash everything he does or doesn't do.

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I have no control, none. I know my place in this world, it's being a father, period, I'm not good at much else. I'm fine with that, to a degree. Okay, that's a lie, I'm not really "fine" with it, because I continue to strive at being better at everything I do, but I've accepted it.

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be critical of his policies whenever you want to - i'm cool with that. no problem at all with that.
but being critical of a speech he gave during a tragic time is crossing a line & making it about HIM & not the tragedy.
when we attempt to personalize it when we know very little about the person, that's when we fail.
that goes for everyone.
we have become such a critical society.
nobody knows how to do it better than us. even though we know we have failed more than once in our own lives.

And that's all you should be right now because having a job and raising well adjusted children is a hell of a lot harder than being an ass clown politician; and a lot more righteous as well. Tow the line Zero, hope things are calming down a little for you.

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Porforis gets a big +1 from me.
EDIT: I wrote "PLUS ONE" AND IT CAME OUT "SLAPNUTS?"

Here's how i see it......there are those that will drool all over whatever comes out of Obama's mouth, and those that will attack anything the guy says, even if it's right.
EXACTLY as they were with Bush, or ANY president.
I'm not like that. I disagree with most of what our current president says, as in my view, he pushes through his own agenda, thinks he knows whats best for us. The president is supposed to do what the majority of Amreicans want, not be a dictator.
But with the horror that happened, i have NO problem with him being there and talking to the people. It was the right thing to do, and i give him props for that.
I know that some see me as this crazy right winger, and automatically disreguard what i say based on there dislike of conservatives. And that's a shame. Cause i listen to what everyone says, even those that i know are far on the left, and make decisions based on what i hear from both sides.
There were things Bush did i didn't agree with. I didn't blindly follow him and give him a free pass because he was a republican.

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You want to slap Porforis's nuts?

Gross. 😞

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