October Surprise II — much better
We were annoyed at how boring October Surprise I was, that business with the NIE. Do you even remember it now?
October Surprise II is much better. October Surprises should be appreciated as art, among other things, and October Surprise II — the Foley Affair — is admirable for its brazenness and entertainment value, as well as for the way it boldly insults the electorate. The people who dream these things up think we are really, really stupid. Ben Stein has a good commentary.
Until a couple of days ago, we never heard about this guy Foley, and we’re not going to start learning about this, um, cockroach, now. Frankly, we expect most politicians to be knaves; just look at the campaigns they run and the consultants they hire.
One more thing. In Congress we have guys and gals who spend $30-60 million to get a job that pays less than $200,000 a year. If you think they are all just doing charity work or public service, you are a fool. These are people who love power, and perhaps even more, they love the usufructs of power; and that goes for Republicans and Democrats alike. We can’t believe the people on the radio and TV from both sides blathering on about how shocked, shocked they are. Anyone who is really surprised or shocked by this should lose the right to vote.
Consider this: almost every bad thing you can think of is currently being done or being thought about by someone you have voted for at some point.
October 2nd, 2006 at 6:44 pm
Twenty-five years ago, when I first started dealing with elected officials as a big-8 partner, a mentor was explaining their character to me. One thing he said has been proven to me over and over again in the intervening years: “Two types of individuals seek public office. Some are driven by a vision which they must have political power to achieve. The office is the means to an end.” I always thought Reagan exemplified this category. “The others seek political office because they want to hold the office, have the title, and wield its power. The office itself is the end.” I suspect Foley fell in this latter category.