Fear Runs Washington
There are many problems with how the government is running right now, and many of my friends talk about a lot of different ways of getting around that. From going to third parties to fleeing elections all-together (though I do my best to convince them to vote anyway). People sometimes blast me for my political views, in particular my support of certain politicians. Occasionally I find something to point to however, that really shows what I like in a politician. Obama has often been quoted as distrustful of the way government currently works, however being part of it he needs to tread a careful line. He speaks of this issue at length in a recent podcast about what drives politicians to make decisions that might not agree with what they believe. It comes down to fear:
The danger for politicians is that you take so much satisfaction from being in a particular office and being called Senator and seeing you name in the paper: the status of office, that it creates an enormous fear about losing that status. I would say that a good 50% of what is wrong with Washington has to do with fear. It has to do with people being so afraid that this might cost them an election or put them at a disadvantage or cause some aggravation with the public that they don’t want to take any risks. And so they play it safe either by using the usual ideological models to solve problems or they run negative campaigns that they don’t feel real good about “but my consultants are telling me that if I don’t run this nasty ad I might lose” or they don’t vote on an issue they way they think they should because they think an interest group might jump down their throats. I just constantly try to remind myself that if I am here just to be here then it’s not worth the aggravation. I am here because I want to get things done and if I can’t get those things done I’d rather be home every night, and I’ll figure out another way to do it.
The thing I love about this is that he acknowledges what the problem is, the source of the problem, and the fact that he is not immune to it. If he s actually able to live by that, he will be one of the best senators ever. On the negative side, he will probably also not be in office that long, after having made too many political enemies. He speaks a little about that process including upsetting others in your own party, but also points out finding people regardless of party background to you can work on with specific issues. (This bill is for allowing the public to discover how Federal Funds are spent, IMO an excellent idea.)