I DON’T WORK FOR A LIVING, BUT I PRETEND THAT I DO WHEN I’M CAMPAIGNING FOR A LIVING, PART I

8/18/11

The other morning my wife, as she was reading about President Obama’s speaking or listening or lecturing or whatever tour he was on in Iowa and in northwestern Illinois, asked me a question that has been asked repeatedly by people all over the country: Why was Obama out campaigning when he should have been in Washington dealing with the budgetary and economic problems that seem to be so daunting?

Clearly, my wife asked the question before clearing thinking through the implications of directing such a query my way; she knew that she would be in for a tirade from a husband who had just been tossed enough read meat to get him worked up for the entire day, but it was too late. I got up on the old soapbox, which always seems to be close at hand, and answered that the reason that President Obama was out campaigning was that we don’t elect leaders, we elect campaigners. People go into politics not because they want to provide leadership or serve their countries, but, rather, because they have messianic complexes, they have schizophrenic egos (absolutely HUGE but in need of constant reinforcement), and their whole purpose in life is self-aggrandizement. Campaigning satisfies, or feeds into, really, these complexes. It is fun to fly around the country to have your hindquarters kissed and crowds of breathless sycophants hanging on your every word. Campaigning has gotten even more fun of late now that the audiences for these photo-ops are carefully selected to insure that only the most slobbering, obsequious cheerleaders are represented in order to maximize the good vibes transmitted on national news. The modern politician is treated like some sort of medieval tsar or ancient Roman governor, the modern equivalent of the “most excellent Felix.”

Leadership, on the other hand, is difficult. It involves work and skills that the modern politician, concentrating on his or her hair style and emoting abilities, never bothered to learn. It is boring, tedious, difficult, usually frustrating work, almost as bad as that experienced in the real jobs that these pols have worked their whole lives to avoid. So why bother to lead? Why not just campaign? Even after being elected, why bother working? Just keep the campaign permanent. There is almost always another office to run for, and even when there isn’t, there is always a gargantuan ego that requires brobdingnagian levels of psychic and emotional nourishment.

I think Susan’s next question concerned why Congress was on vacation when the President was out campaigning while the country seemed to be falling apart, but she clearly thought better of providing an opening for yet another tirade.