Posted on 12/22/2004 3:13:21 PM PST by CHARLITE
It may have all started with James Carville’s infamous political phrase, “It’s the economy, stupid.” The phrase was not intended to insult the American public. Certainly, they were not stupid. It was the sitting president that was stupid, of course. In his presidency, he had won a war in the Middle East, chased the Iraqi army out of Kuwait, and generally enjoyed overwhelming approval ratings until America began to focus on the economy…because they were told it was bad, bad, bad. Lets see, was it a recession…..or was it a depression? Whatever. Of course, the economy in 1992 was not in the shambles it was when Ronald Reagan defeated Jimmy Carter in 1980. Yet, nobody publicly called Carter….stupid. At least, not publicly.
So, Carville opened the door and welcomed the denigration of the office of presidency and soon it became an open house. Fast forward to 2004 where the open house has turned into an animal house. Today, obscenities are bantered about publicly in mockery of our country’s highest office. Just recently, the adjective ‘dumb’ replaced ‘stupid,‘ and the ‘F’ word, used as a noun, replaced President George W. Bush. But then, what kind of offspring would Chevy Chase expect from a stupid father? Nobody would believe that anybody would or could outdo Whoopi Goldberg’s despicable fund raiser performance for John Kerry at the Radio City Music during Campaign 04. But, perhaps Chevy Chase has done just than. If anybody thinks that Hollywood is “The heart and soul of our country,“ oh boy.
Remember the famous saying of Grantland Rice, “For when the One Great Scorer comes to mark against your name, He writes not that you’ve won or lost, but how you played the game.” Two other sports quotes come to mind when I think of people like Whoopi, Chevy, Teddy, Terry and Al. Let me share them….“How a man plays the game shows something of his character; how he loses shows it all,” and “Doing what is fair, right, and honorable is more important than winning or losing.”
Bush won. It’s time for those who voted against him to get over it and join those who did in promulgating our democratic agenda which includes among other important issues, fighting and winning a global war against terrorism. A new year is almost upon us. It is time for political leaders to assess themselves and others around them. Those who possess traits of demagoguery, pedantry, and hypocrisy aren’t bringing much to the table. Neither are the cynics, troublemakers, and obstructionists. Both parties have agreed that the most important issue facing our country today is the war on terrorism. Making mockery and ridiculing the commander-in-chief undermines this issue.
I am personally dumbfounded that there is groundswell of negative discussion and, in many instances, a calling for Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, to step down. I can understand why the mainstream media doesn’t like Rumsfeld. He’s blunt, outspoken, and likely knows their mission in the battle zone better than they do. Democrats don’t like him because he is experienced and in all likelihood, a better politician than most of them. He’s tough, smart, and one helluva wartime leader. That aside, he has been blamed for Abu Ghraib, not anticipating the magnitude of the insurgency, some equipment shortages, and a myriad of other petty criticisms including a recent exchange with a Specialist Fourth Class soldier who was prompted by an embedded reporter. There’s nary a mention of his accomplishments. Even Senator McCain has opined that a change would be welcomed. In my eyes, Senator McCain’s credence faded fast when he opted not to support the Swiftees during Campaign 2004.
America wants and deserves world respect. Yet, how can we expect respect from others when we can’t respect our own. As [the late] Rodney [Dangerfield] used to say, “The way my luck is running, if I was a politician I would be honest.”
Robert Lanzotti attended the University of Illinois on a football scholarship from 1955-1960. Through the ROTC program, he was commissioned into the Regular Army as a second lieutenant in 1960 and retired as a lieutenant colonel twenty-five years later. Robert was an Airborne Ranger and a Master Army Aviator. During his two tours in Vietnam he flew more than 1,000 hours of combat helicopter time and was awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses, four Bronze Stars, and twenty-four Air Medals. He commanded a helicopter unit within the 1st Cavalry Division and served as operations officer of the Army's largest divisional aviation group. Robert served fours years on the Army General Staff at the Pentagon. His formal education includes: University of Illinois, BS, ALS; Hampton University, MA, Ed. Admin.; and Marymount University, ME, Ed. Robert also graduated from the Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk, VA. Today, Robert is an elementary school teacher in Smyrna, a suburb of Atlanta, where he lives with his wife Vicki and their golden retriever, Rocky.
Comments:lanzotti@therant.us
God, that is just too easy.
Please explain! :)
Actually, when using that phrase, the "stupid" is the person to whom the statement is being made. When Carville said it, the "stupid" would have been Clinton. It was to remind him to stay on topic.
This was simply a play on the old "KISS" theory, which was taught to, among others, trial lawyers. KISS stands for "keep it simple, stupid". Stupid being the guy who has to keep it simple.
lower the standards.
just like lowering the academic standards so as not to
make little non trying johnnie and his loser, it's the schools problem ,parents feel any need to have resposability
other than making sure they don't miss a happy hour.
it was called the 3 R's
now its the 3 w's
why me, who cares, and when do i get paid.
SCUM DEMS.........................
One cannot have "a myriad of" anything. While the petty criticisms may have been myriad, you cannot have a myriad of petty criticisms.
Even the standards on our side appears to be dropping.
Got to love the sour grapes organizing protests for the Inaguration.
Would be like me crashing my ex-girlfriend's wedding and shouting down the minister as he's giving vows.
Class act.
Indeed.
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