I Just Don’t Care
I am really tired of hearing the national media spout tales of personal indiscretions by high profile people. I don’t care about a person’s demons and misdeeds, just how they perform in the job they are entrusted with. Let me explain.
So much has been made about Bill Clinton’s sexual snafus. I could care less. Those things should only be an issue between him and Hillary. It’s their relationship, their vows, their betrayal, their problem. The same goes for Dwight Eisenhower, Jack Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Wilbur Mills, Gary Hart, and on and on. It should be between Ike and Mamie, Jack and Jackie, Lyndon and Lady Bird, etc. Did I really need to know about the Argentine Firecracker? I think not.
Now I see the media frantically trying to tie John McCain to some much-younger female lobbyist. Give me a break. I am only interested in whether these guys are good at their job. Are they effective legislators? Do they care about the people? Do they suck up to special interests? Do they have solutions?
The media focuses too much on personal stuff, which puts real issues on the back burner. I am intensely interested in the 2008 presidential election. I want to know the details, yes details, of how each candidate would restructure our economy, rebuild our worldwide relationships, end the budget deficit, promote alternative energy, etc. Instead, McCain has to defend himself against the lobbyist garbage, Obama has to defend wearing a turban, and Hillary has to defend … well, you know.
I have visited the websites of each of these three candidates. Pandering to the media and not wanting to alienate a single voter, each tells vaguely what they are going to do as president, but not HOW! I wanna know. Stop giving the media sound bites, and let’s talk nuts and bolts.
I also want to know why Congress is getting involved in steroids in baseball? Don’t we have enough serious problems in the world that need to be addressed? Shouldn’t the steroid thing be handled by major league baseball. They have a commissioner and their own bureaucracy. Let them deal with it. Why is Roger Clemens out lobbying Congressmen in Washington?
Now I hear speculation that Congress might even stick its nose into the spygate affair concerning the coach of the NFL’s New England Patriots. You’ve got to be kidding. The media is making a big thing out of stuff that is inconsequential to my life.
In baseball and football, teams have tried to intercept their opponents intentions since the sports originated. What pitch is the catcher calling for? Is the quarterback going to throw a screen pass or run an end around? Figuring the other team’s strategy has been an integral part of those sports, and until recently any means necessary was an acceptable part of the game.
So when did the introspective media originate? When did reporters stop winking and hushing up? In my mind, it was around the time of Watergate. Woodward and Bernstein took investigative journalism to another level, bringing down Richard Nixon. The same can be said for the national media driving Thomas Eagleton away for psychiatric therapy in his past, or William Loeb and his Manchester (NH) Union Leader probably costing Edmund Muskie a presidential election victory, only to later find out the charges were false.
Let’s focus on issues. Let’s have candidates and politicians talk about solutions. Let’s bring the process back to its grassroots. Let’s have honest debate, citizen input!
As for all the dirt, the muckraking, the philandering. Frankly Scarlet, I don’t give a damn!
- Mountain Man