Monday, April 27, 2009

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Politicians Being Politicians [How dodgy is Luke Ravenstahl?]

I have no idea if anyone still reads this blog, but on the off chance that someone hasn't thrown out the link...

It is sometimes necessary for a politician to be a politician. Politics is about more than leading effectively, it's also about convincing your constituents that you are leading effectively. Part of this is not being caught up in every little issue that comes up. People ask about a lot of things that aren't relevant to what a politician is doing or could spark a fire storm, and consequently you have to dodge the answer. I've been thinking about this, so allow me to demonstrate some questions I would dodge if I was mayor:
  • Have you ever had pre-marital sex?
  • What's the most alcohol you have ever consumed in a day?
  • Do republicans or democrats tend to be more racist?
  • Do you think that some politicians fabricate their faith for election day?
  • Do you think that homosexuals should be ordained ministers in your church?
In every case, I have an answer to the question. Not just that, but I have an answer to the question that I am 100% comfortable with. I also have no desire to touch off the media firestorm that would ensue by answering each. It would do nothing but distract from the issues at hand as none of these would in anyway determine my fitness for being mayor.

Now, we get to Ravenstahl specifically. "I did a good job of not answering that, didn't I?"

That sounds like he enjoys dodging these questions and THAT is not good. The politicians that are good for their constituents are leaders first and politicians second. Sure they sometimes have to get a little sleezy and dodge a question, but they do it because they believe they can make their constituents' lives better. What scares me about Luke (and to a lesser extent Dowd) is that he appears to enjoy being a politician more then he enjoys being a leader.

At this point, I think you probably can tell I'm speaking about Bob Mayo and Luke Ravenstahl. However, before we get to that I want to drive home my point.