The Honorable Politician
Submitted by Stan4Clark on February 8, 2010 - 9:36pm.
Essays
The Honorable Politician
Sunday, Februrary 7, 2010On this Super Bowl Sunday, I’m finding it more than a little ironic that I’m writing today on the subject of honor in politics. Oh, well. The game doesn’t start for several hours, and even the pre-game hype is over three hours away.
Ever since I associated myself with the Wesley Clark for President movement, I’ve thought about the concept of honor. After all, Gen. Clark’s alma mater’s motto is “Duty, Honor, Country.” One of the reasons I’m so intrigued by honor is that I’ve always wondered if I had much of it.
Last night, I asked myself what it would mean to have honor in politics these days. What attributes or characteristics would an honorable politician display?
I started with civility. Perhaps more than anything, an honorable politician would be civil toward fellow politicians of all stripes. Name-calling, anger, and vitriol don’t seem to fit well with honor.
An honorable politician would probably also care more about solving problems than adhering to an ideology. If it works…if it’s effective…for the long term…it’s probably worth doing no matter whose idea it is. That is, though, it’s worth doing as long as it’s done in an environment of ethics and morality.
I remembered the words of Mike Miles, my choice for the U.S. Senate in 2004: “Compassion over greed, effort over pedigree, service over wealth, and the common good for all.” That led me to some other characteristics to describe the honorable politician:
- Mission over party.
- Humility over pride.
- Truth over public relations, honesty over spin.
- Gandhi: Principle over politics.
- Self-reliance over the influence of special interests.
- Firmness in the right, flexibility in the light of new information.
I welcome your additions and comments.
Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
Wes Clark: "We're no better than our own sense of humility."
Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition?
Or...
Good bread, good meat, good God, let's eat?
Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
Wes Clark: "We're no better than our own sense of humility."
The General
very thoughtful list, Stan
gotta get the clowns out of Congress
as a society how have we created so many
narcissists?
I don't get it
I loved being associated with General Clark
and you all (who I call ClarkPeople)because
of the dedication to country, others and
lifting people up
it may have been you that used this quote
often:
"LEADERSHIP MEANS LIFTING PEOPLE UP"
Gen. Wes Clark
all the best,
Bill
Bill (from RI)
Thanks, Bill, but I believe that the "leadership" quote comes directly from the General.
Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
Wes Clark: "We're no better than our own sense of humility."
Alexander Haig:
“Not being a politician, I think I can say this: The life of a politician in America is sleaze,”
"I didn't realize it until I started to run for office," he said. "But there is hardly a straight guy in the business. As Nixon always said to me -- and he took great pride in it -- 'Al, I never took a dollar. I had somebody else do it.'"
I infer from the polls, MSM and cable TV (Fox and NBC especially)that most people view the term honorable politician as an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms. I think it is.
While many politicians, if not most, are honorable individuals, the demands of the electorate coupled with:
-the need to be reelected and satisfy supporters
-burdens of finanical fundraising
-plus give and take of legislative compromises
all exert continual, increasing pressure on that honor concept. That cumulative pressure tends to erode personal values and more often than not forces a reprioritization that puts real world pragmatism over an ethereal idealized concept such as honor. Not in all cases but more frequently than not, I suspect
Reminds me of that commercial about Charlie Tuna. "We don't want tuna with good taste, we want tuna that tastes good." Honor may be desireable even necessary in a politician but it isn't sufficient. A good politician must also produce results that help the politician's electorate.
Cynical or realistic?
And don't pass the football to the wrong player!