Five years out of law school I went to work for the newly elected Missouri Attorney General. He was distinctive. He had two graduate degrees from Yale; one in law and the other in divinity. He baptized and married our youngest daughter, Marcia. His name: John C. Danforth or Jack to friends or St. Jack to his critics.
My appreciation for that beginning has been underscored by today’s political mess and I am talking about more than former President Donald Trump’s actions preceding and following the January 6th attack on Democracy.
Words and phrases about the politics of kingdoms and tribes were first written on tablets; later printing technology and democracy widened the field. Now, writing a book about humble beginnings and self-catapulting success accompanies all national ambitions.
My life, as told by the political aspirant, introduces the ambitious to careful editing and ultimately to a pattern of robotic answers when questioned. Spinmeisters abound. Never in a democracy has candor been in such short supply. Let’s see, “should I support a candidate who won’t really tell me what he is thinking?”
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Senator John McCain had been raised by an Admiral, told what to do by the Naval hierarchy at Annapolis and later by his captors in North Vietnam and still later by his political handlers. In part Senator McCain who was the Republican nominee for President in 2008 remained interesting because he didn’t take instruction. John McCain unplugged was a moral man because he meant what he said and was prepared to be judged by both his words and actions. He refused to hide.
And while I am on “unplugged” it is easy to imagine hundreds of intensely argued moments in the political life of Donald J. Trump. I am sure he must bristle at instruction, convinced he knows best. Yet, his originality in politics served him well, until it didn’t.
One of my later in life political lessons occurred in the aftermath of Trump calling McCain a loser. I was certain his characterization was a fatal error. What I failed to understand was the lure of Trump Unplugged.
Politicians and their enablers have lowered the standards; they are mostly scripted, although Hollywood doesn’t come calling. Years ago, I was on the set of the TV comedy Cheers. During a break in the filming Ted Danson quipped: “you people in Washington are just like us, we are all actors.” Well maybe, but the Washington version of acting is a façade to cover evasion and avoidance. Actors are a stories characters while most politicians are the real-life characters in what is often a bad script.
Morality in politics? We were given a vivid standard by a Republican Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives, Rusty Bowers. He made a notation in his diary after Trump and Rudy Giuliani teamed up to declare there was fraud in the Arizona election that Trump lost and insisted that he should refuse to certify the results. Rusty Bowers wrote:
In a Democracy Bowers’ words and actions writ large are all the protection we have. We get the morality we deserve. Perhaps there was a time when standards of morality were set at the top. They certainly were when I worked for Attorney General Danforth. More often today they are set at the bottom—the foundation. Politicians are free to say what they want; we should pay attention to what they do. If we can’t get it right, corruption will be our legacy.
Al Sikes is the former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission under George H.W. Bush. Al writes on themes from his book, Culture Leads Leaders Follow published by Koehler Books.
Deirdre LaMotte says
Agree. Is it that previous generations lived lives that did not depend on constantly acquiring power? I think if one,
young GHWBush, who enlisted in the Navy at 17. Once a person has served for something other than personal
advancement, perhaps honor and integrity are well understood and accepted for living a decent life. These Freedon
Caucus Republicans are liars and only after power. I remember when society was appalled by that.
Richard Marks says
Deidre, et al,
Thanks for pointing out the value of service to a greater good and setting aside personal gain. So often I find myself appreciating Bob Dylan’s lyrics and relevance; he always seems to reflect our times so clearly and in his most recent concert tour included this song in his set list. While the audience may clamor for their favorite Dylan songs from the early years, he seems to choose those that are most relevant to present day circumstances.
Gotta Serve Somebody
WRITTEN BY: BOB DYLAN
You may be an ambassador to England or France
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody
You might be a rock ’n’ roll addict prancing on the stage
You might have drugs at your command, women in a cage
You may be a businessman or some high-degree thief
They may call you Doctor or they may call you Chief
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody
You may be a state trooper, you might be a young Turk
You may be the head of some big TV network
You may be rich or poor, you may be blind or lame
You may be living in another country under another name
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody
You may be a construction worker working on a home
You may be living in a mansion or you might live in a dome
You might own guns and you might even own tanks
You might be somebody’s landlord, you might even own banks
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody
You may be a preacher with your spiritual pride
You may be a city councilman taking bribes on the side
You may be workin’ in a barbershop, you may know how to cut hair
You may be somebody’s mistress, may be somebody’s heir
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody
Might like to wear cotton, might like to wear silk
Might like to drink whiskey, might like to drink milk
You might like to eat caviar, you might like to eat bread
You may be sleeping on the floor, sleeping in a king-sized bed
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody
You may call me Terry, you may call me Timmy
You may call me Bobby, you may call me Zimmy
You may call me R.J., you may call me Ray
You may call me anything but no matter what you say
You’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody
Copyright © 1979 by Special Rider Music
Deirdre LaMotte says
Thank you for sharing. Dylan did win the Noble and I can appreciate his vision of society.
William Dalton says
Rusty Bowers testimony was inspiring however I understand that after his moving testimony he stated upon inquiry that he would vote for Trump again. If true this is most disconcerting if a viable option was available. In view of the evidence received by the January 6 Commission maybe some of your readers could help me understand how a patriotic believer in the laws and the Constitution of the United States could vote for Trump as President.
Jim Moses CDR, USN (Ret.) says
I am pleased you brought up the name John McCain. One of the saddest moments of my life was watching fellow naval officers – not polticians or pundits – naval officers – jump on the “let’s curry favor with Trump” bandwagon by attempting to smear the Senator (and his memory) by trying to link him to the Forrestal fire. Granted there were only a few, but even one was a universe too many.
And were it not for Karl Rove, he very likely would have been elected in 2000.
Tom McCall says
Danforth gave Justice Thomas and Josh Hawley. That is a truly terrible track record.
DEIRDRE LAMOTTE says
Yep, it is called dementia. I hope it was that…
Al Sikes says
Ah, if we all in each of our decisions could know exactly how they would turn out.
Deirdre LaMotte says
Yes the unfortunate GHWBush’s nomination of Clarence Thomas and Joe Biden’s treatment of Anita Hill.
Talk about coming back to bite women in the bum. Truly horrific.
Bob Parker says
There was a time not too long ago when a politician being caught in a lie was the kiss of death because neither voters nor colleagues would trust him or her. There was a time when sexual impropriety would disqualify a candidate outright because how could that person be trusted to “do the right thing”. There was a time when country mattered more than party, and principle mattered more than policy. Sadly, that time, at least for the GOP, is past. Only when voters decide that principle, ethics and character matter more than any single person or policy will our politicians resume acting with character and regain the trust they desire. One can only hope that that time comes soon.
Barbara Denton says
John McCain did start the fire on the Forrestal. If he had not been an admiral’s son he would have been subject to a court martial and possibly removed from the Navy. Why was his nickname in the Hanoi Hilton songbird? What all did President Richard Nixon have to forgive him for and erase from his records? President Trump’s opinion of McCain was spot on. Why do we have to keep seeing these smearing articles about Trump week after week? The Republicans for some reason keep making the mistake of nominating candidates that they think are in line for the nomination. Of course they do not say what the qualifications to be in the line are. Consequently, when someone who is not a politician gets nominated as the people are sick and tired of RINOS, the establishment goes crazy as they will not have any control over this President and they fail to support him. The Republicans had two years to undo the mess that Obama put our Country in and they did nothing. Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell the leading RINOS were directly responsible for undermining President Trump allowing the fake Russia lie to go on and on and doing nothing to support their President. The January 6th committee is a farce. The lies in the ground breaking testimony this week have all been refuted. Please write an article on something the public really wants to hear about. This Trump bashing and rehashing the lies the Democrats are spewing is getting old.