Elinor Nauen

If you don't like politicians, you should try living in a country where they don't have any. 

~ Tony Benn, British politician

 

I have been unable to find confirmation of the quote or its source, but it's a good one. I remember a book by Paul Gallico, one in a series about Ada Harris, a cockney charlady who also goes to Paris & Moscow. In Mrs. Harris Goes to Parliament, she gets elected quite by accident & ends up quitting right away. She says it's a job that like any others needs qualified people & it devalues the job if people like her do it. Yes, politics does demand knowledge & skill. You can see that some people, like Lyndon Johnson & Abraham Lincoln, are really good at it. And some people fell into it, like Jim Hightower said about George Bush: he was born on third base & thinks he hit a triple. (A quote originally from football coach Barry Switzer but not about Bush: he said "some people.") Getting elected is only part of the job, & it's what you do afterwards that counts. I guess I would say I'm for unity. I hate to see Democrats fighting Democrats when there are so many Republicans who should be sent packing. I look at it as a moral issue, & I'm not sure I would support Lincoln if he was running against a decent incumbent. 

"We managed to divide ourselves on something we were unified on, over a goal that wasn't achievable," said Senator Roy Blunt, Republican of Missouri. —from today's New York Times.

This is so obvious, even if you were barely paying attention, that one wonders how they could be so oblivious. It's amazing how bad at their jobs so many of these guys are. No wonder so many people figure they may as well run for Congress.

There's a book by Paul (Snow Goose) Gallico called Mrs. 'arris Goes to Parliament, in which the parties collude on who they both want as MP so they throw a charlady in as a sure loss. She wins, however, but quits soon after, once she realizes there's more to the job than just being elected.  Read More