"They will all promise every man, woman, and child in the country whatever he, she, or it wants. They'll all be roving the land looking for chances to make the rich poor, to remedy the irremediable, to succor the unsuccorable, to unscramble the unscrambleable, to dephlogisticate the undephlogisticable. They will all be curing warts by saying words over them, and paying off the national debt with money that no one will have to earn...In brief, they will divest themselves of their character as sensible, candid, and truthful men, and become simply candidates for office.
- H. L. Mencken (1880-1956), American newspaperman
John Kerry, the most popular Democrat at the moment, caught the attention of Rich Lowry over at National Review Online. Lowry has compared Kerry's voting record in the Senate with what he's saying in his campaign now and discovered some contradictions.
"Kerry has long said that he is a great fighter. If he completes his miraculous comeback to win the Democratic nomination, he will indeed have the fight of his life on his hands--against his own legislative record."
Mr. Kerry thus far has spoken against the war...which he voted for, against the Patriot Act...which he voted for, against the No Child Left Behind Act...which he voted for, and against NAFTA...which he also voted for. He did vote against the final Bush tax cut legislation, so that is in accord with his campaign rhetoric.
What Lowry has done here is just the beginning. Every candidate's words and actions will be scrutinized by those who are against him, and every inconsistency will be pounced upon. Every promise and criticism will be minutely examined, and every disparity capitalized upon. No one who's in the race will escape. That's politics. Don't you love it?
10 comments:
It's one of my favorite spectator sports!!!
Me too...almost as much fun as fishing.
Too bad politicians only get this much scrutiny during an election year.
Kerry is toast, that's why I'd rather Dean win the nomination. Kerry's voting record will be fodder for administration's reelection machine.
Absolutely...that's what makes politicians... well, er politicians! The ability to reshape the truth, historical facts and their own words to fit the then current situation and audience is indeed a talent that mere mortals either don't possess or just can't bring themselves to be that two-faced and still look themselves in the mirror. What we need is to clean Washington of them all;start fresh with some plain old citizens. Come on..how about Nantz for President!!! Has a nice ring to it.
If nominated, I will not accept. If elected, I will not serve.
I've always thought that we should elect candidates who have character and integrity no matter what party. No one can say how he or she will vote on an issue
once elected because there are so many variables. Some times the choices may be between "bad" and "worse." If you elect someone with honor and integrity you can be sure that they will be working to do the best for the country.
Oh yes...but the question is how? How do we find such a person of integrity and honor? To paraphrase a quote from antiquity...'my kingdom for a man of honor'!
We are all human, with our faults, foibles and shady pasts. These may be insignificant to your family and friends, but your opponents will magnify them into sins of the highest order, and you will appear to be the worst person imaginable. Few "men of honor" want to subject the people they love to such attacks, so they choose not to run. Colin Powell, I think, is a "man of honor," and I'd love to see him seek the presidency, but I don't think he ever will.
I'm grateful for journalists like Rich Lowry. I think we need to know when politician's voting record doesn't line up with his/her rhetoric. It can signal a lack of integrity when there's a big difference. Politician's have the right to change their mind like everybody else, but when somebody's done a real turnaround from a vote, I want to hear why.
I am new in the world of computers, a slow starter. It was refreshing to find a site replete with intelligent discourse, not four-letter words. Thanks! I shall return.
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