Someone just like us. That’s a big line for the political spin doctors of the day. Some candidates create the image that they are just regular Joe’s, “Someone like us” that we want to elect.
Trouble is, why would we want someone “just like us” to run the most important country in the free world. Some said they voted for George Bush because he was the kind of guy you could “sit down with and have a beer.” Yeah. Great. Look where that got us.
A caller to the Bureaucrat Beat newsroom this week said with intensity, “Someone just like us. It’s the most powerful job in the world and we want Joe Six Pack to fill it?!?!”
This same caller put it further into perspective. Would you want a regular guy to, let’s say, perform surgery on you? I don’t think so. Real qualifications count above all else.
Speaking of politics, we are also told by listeners that some morning coffee locales have turned into election combat zones. During the regular 45 morning minutes of solving the world’s problems the debates have ratcheted way, way up.
Our inner office chit chats tend to loom below shouting level. Around the Bureaucrat Beat card table we brought up the outrages of the week, pounded on our manual typewriters and slugged down coffee. We found the most scandalous tale on the bailout trail. Seems American International Group, AIG, bailed out by the feds with $85 billion last week, immediately sent company executives on a $440,000 junket to what’s described as a posh California resort. The 400 Grand included more than $23,000 on spa treatments at the St. Regis resort south of Los Angeles.
The rest of the money went for catered banquets, golf outings and visits to the resort’s spa and salon. Need we say more? Should someone simply arrest them for grand theft? We think so. The U.S. government has a right to own 80% of the mega insurance company of one-time stature.
Clearly, big corporate types just don’t get it. The American people got it. Legislators admitted that most calls and emails opposed the $700 billion bail-out. So, why did Congress vote for it?
Here’s another failure to communicate accurately. Seems Terrellita Maverick of the famous family which originated the term Maverick took exception to the recent use of the term “Maverick” by politicos. The 82 year old Ms. Maverick points out that the family from which the term started was known for its progressive politics since the 1600s. An early ancestor in Boston got into a pinch with the law over his agitation for the rights of indentured servants. The current Ms. Maverick is, herself, a member emeritus of the San Antonio chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas. She insists that McCain is “in no way a maverick.” Things do get lost in translation.
Well, some things don’t. One of our faithful listeners from Mammoth Lakes wanted us to pass on how great the yellow ribbons look in Bishop. The Military Moms’ Club made sure those ribbons went up so we would remember our own in Iraq and Afghanistan. The yellow ribbons communicate that we care and look forward to their safe return.
With that, this is Benett Kessler signing off for bureaucrat Beat where we await your word on our lives in the Eastern Sierra and beyond.
