Reflux capacitor
Why so many politicians give us heartburn:
Richard Nixon famously remarked that no one could attain public office unless he had the “fire in the belly” impelling him to overcome the obstacles.
He was right, of course. Attaining office is an obstacle course so difficult that without the “fire in the belly”, the half-(or more) insane determination to get there, no one can possibly get there. Trouble is, that obstacle course selects only for “fire in the belly”, and not for intelligence, competence, or even sanity. Arguably it selects against those qualities, especially the last.
It doesn’t help that the electorate apparently has similar appetite for both bombast and borborgymus.
I’m starting to warm to the idea of filling these offices with random convicted felons: there’d be no more wondering if Senator So-and-so is a thieving SOB — we’d know it, right up front — and the prevailing level of moral twerpitude probably wouldn’t change in the least.
McGehee »
20 December 2009 · 2:06 pm
Unintended consequences and perverse incentives would converge: we’d have people committing felonies just so they’d be eligible.
Mark Alger »
20 December 2009 · 11:22 pm
I’m wondering if the problem isn’t so much our representatives as it is their staffs. (Staves?) Maybe we should limit each Senator and Congressman to one secretary and one assistant.
M