Some fellow pundits claim the scandals involving online comments and possible prosecutorial misconduct only tarnish the terminal months of Jim Letten’s legacy as U.S. Attorney in New Orleans. They’re a stain at the end of his distinguished tenure, according to WWL’s Clancy Dubos. A bad final chapter in an otherwise great book of accomplishments, according to WGSO radio host Kaare Johnson.
It’s as if Letten were at bat in the bottom of the ninth inning, and struck out on a wicked slider thrown by businessman (and former federal target) Fred Heebe. Then he retired. You can’t boo a Hall of Famer for one untimely lapse, can you?
Government and politics is no place for hero worship. No one rises to these leadership roles through the awesome force of shimmering virtue. Instead, such men and women make their careers through grasping compromise of principle; by going along to get along; by consciously conforming themselves, their opinions, and priorities, to those of the governing class; by whispering together in their dry cellars and such.
High ranking public officials are not "dragonslayers." They are club men. Their most common distinguishing characteristic is cowardice. This isn't always a bad thing, of course. Because we are fortunate enough to live under a mildly responsive, somewhat functional, kind of democratic form of government, we can occasionally frighten the cowardly club men into doing the right thing. But what that requires from us is constant attention, and much screaming and yelling at no small expense to our leisure, our security, and to our pocketbooks.
Even so the failure rate remains high. The club, after all, is the club and its members enjoy many privileges most of us do not. In any case, there is no time in this to stop and pretend any of our presumed leaders, even when occasionally made to behave, is our friend. It would be helpful, then, if the gatekeepers of our journalism would refrain from doing so too. But maybe that's too much to ask since so many of them clearly want to be in the club themselves.
3 comments:
I enjoyed Mark's column. Your cynicism and observations are spot on.
Thanks. I don't know if I'd call it cynicism, though. I'm skeptical of what I see as lame and distorting conventional wisdom about how things are supposed to work. I think we're beset by a thick fog of bullshit. But my interpretation of a cynic would be someone who accepts and exploits the bullshit to one's own advantage. Cynicism is Ray Nagin comparing himself to MLK, for example.
"Because we are fortunate enough to live under a mildly responsive, somewhat functional, kind of democratic form of government, we can occasionally frighten the cowardly club men into doing the right thing. But what that requires from us is constant attention, and much screaming and yelling at no small expense to our leisure, our security, and to our pocketbooks..."
Wow! I am struck by the insight of this comment and reminded of the recent appointment of a School Board Member by the Ocean Springs Board of Aldermen (several of these men are friends, neighbors and/or cronies of John McKay and the Walker Gang). Dr. Sharon Walker's (matriarch) term was ending and amid all the recent "unpleasantness," most thought she would retire with a modicum of decency, given that she had served 3+ terms so far (having been appointed to fill her hubby's term initially). But no, she applied for re-appointment. And to the credit of this lovely "City of Discovery," eight other individuals applied as well - some of them with credentials which were unbelievable (a scientist/collegiate athlete/concert musician fully embodying the School District's motto of Academics-Athletics-Arts who was passed over...but I digress). However, the good ole boys of city government had already conspired to garner enough votes to secure Walker's reappointment. And the word was out; everyone knew it was a done deal. As an aside, Mayor Connie Moran does not have a vote, except to break a tie or to exert veto power in certain situations. However, she, being as is often the case the sole arbiter of open government, gave notice of the special session to interview School Board candidates. And lo and behold, a few souls (most Walker aficionados) showed up to observe. Walker was interviewed first, followed by the mass exodus of her and her followers. Then came the eight other candidates, one by one. With only a token citizen or two and a local weekly newspaper editor to observe, the Aldermen tried to go into Executive Session, and it was clear they wanted to re-appoint Walker with no one knowing who said what to whom. However, the "fourth estate" (James Ricketts) objected on the basis of no grounds, the city attorney concurred and the deliberations took place in the "open." Walker was not re-appointed, but in a way the "who you know not what you know" mentality prevailed, as a long-time and now retired school administrator who everyone knew and loved was given the post, leaving behind several obviously more qualified individuals had the criteria been simply actual qualifications.
It took a couple of individuals spending the entire evening (approximately 5-9:30 p.m.) to ensure that the backroom deal wasn't a "done deal" and to "frighten" those aldermen who were seeking re-election into doing the "right thing." Of course, they then immediately went on to appoint the brother of a friend to the Civil Service Commission, but at least they made him share a funny golf story first.
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