Thursday, September 15, 2005
Concerning politicians
Something that everyone should remember about politicians is that they only hear what their aides tell them.
This applies to all politicians regardless of party.
Yes, most of them do read newspapers, but consider their schedules. On any given day they have a schedule that is mind-boggling; they must attend to their committee meetings, make it to voting sessions, meet with various constituents, do fund-raising (another subject all on its own), study various legislation that will soon be in committee or up for a vote, create statements to answer the inundation of email and phone calls that the talk show hosts and activists have asked everyone to send in, talk to the press, make time for their families, sleep at some point, etc. etc. etc.
These people live very hectic lives and therefore have very little time to be studying the news the way many of us (and I wish more of us) do. What that means is that the news they receive is colored very much by their aides. The politicians that are more knowledgeable on many issues obviously have chosen very good aides. The ones that seem not to know about a variety of issues have obviously chosen poorly.
Anyway, the point of me saying this is that we often point at politicians and say "he lied" or "she lied" when in reality it is quite possible they just don't know the facts. Most of America doesn't know the facts on most issues. Yes, we want our politicians to be well informed so that they can make good decisions but the fact of the matter is that due to the schedules they are forced to keep that is very difficult. They are also very insulated in their "bubble" of people around them, so the information they receive through whatever network they have set up is still highly filtered. Keep that in mind before you say a politician "lied".
I personally don't think G.W. Bush lied about Iraq, I just think he has poorly chosen the people that surround him. I don't think these people would give him the full information even if they knew it and he has admitted that he doesn't read the newspaper.
This applies to all politicians regardless of party.
Yes, most of them do read newspapers, but consider their schedules. On any given day they have a schedule that is mind-boggling; they must attend to their committee meetings, make it to voting sessions, meet with various constituents, do fund-raising (another subject all on its own), study various legislation that will soon be in committee or up for a vote, create statements to answer the inundation of email and phone calls that the talk show hosts and activists have asked everyone to send in, talk to the press, make time for their families, sleep at some point, etc. etc. etc.
These people live very hectic lives and therefore have very little time to be studying the news the way many of us (and I wish more of us) do. What that means is that the news they receive is colored very much by their aides. The politicians that are more knowledgeable on many issues obviously have chosen very good aides. The ones that seem not to know about a variety of issues have obviously chosen poorly.
Anyway, the point of me saying this is that we often point at politicians and say "he lied" or "she lied" when in reality it is quite possible they just don't know the facts. Most of America doesn't know the facts on most issues. Yes, we want our politicians to be well informed so that they can make good decisions but the fact of the matter is that due to the schedules they are forced to keep that is very difficult. They are also very insulated in their "bubble" of people around them, so the information they receive through whatever network they have set up is still highly filtered. Keep that in mind before you say a politician "lied".
I personally don't think G.W. Bush lied about Iraq, I just think he has poorly chosen the people that surround him. I don't think these people would give him the full information even if they knew it and he has admitted that he doesn't read the newspaper.
