I hope I'm not stepping out of bounds, but for those that haven't seen the following letter to the editor in the Reporter, it is one of the better expressed statements on the condition of the political scene today. Bill Pearce, forgive me for copying your letter.

RISE UP

If there's ever been a time that this country needs statesmen instead of politicians, it's now!

With the presidential election on the horizon, one cannot help but wonder about the future of America in the hands of veteran lawmakers, special interest and lobbyists that currently prevails. Is, perhaps, a new broom appropriate?

The early debates leave much doubt that there will emerge from these ranks another Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Dwight Eisenhower or Ronald Reagan. To date, there's been little more than sniping at each other, lambasting the current administration, pointing the finger and trying to cover one's deeds or misdeeds. ("I voted for 'it' before I voted against 'it.'" Or, "I didn't read the bill and now realized I should have voted against it." "I misspoke." "I don't remember." "I was misquoted." Etc.)

Have we heard in depth what each will do to correct specific issues, such as the burgeoning entitlement programs or the deplorable situation in which injured vets find themselves? ("Won't happen on my watch," as an answer, will not fly.)

One wonders if the winner will continue to opt for the more secular approach to the country's problems, that which is more "politically correct." With the right to do so, we question if any will have the courage to say "no" or "hands off" to those things better left to the individuals? Or will they continue trying to be "everything to everyone" in order to wheel, deal and influence until they serve only themselves and their own special interest?

A good example of this is the manner in which the politicians have tied the hands of those responsible for obtaining the very best price for Medicare drugs. (How many millionaires were created from just that one action?) The newly elected Congress promised to address this problem, along with a litany of other promises that have yet to be fulfilled.

If all of the predictions are correct, Social Security will soon be broke, with little chance of recovering using the current plan. Solution offered?

One cannot help becoming sad at witnessing the fall of the great and near-great as they push, shove, scramble and claw their way to the top. Neither can one help feeling compassion at seeing their unsavory behavior splashed across the headlines - the family being shredded to pieces or their very lives being plunged into the gutters.

On the other hand, it is difficult to keep from becoming bitter at seeing the beliefs, trust and faith placed in an individual being cast aside and trampled underfoot like so much sawdust at a weekend circus. Neither can we help becoming confused, frustrated, disillusioned and perhaps a tiny bit angry when we realize this next election will probably be no different than most before it. Can there be any hope for America unless there are some drastic changes within the individual representative - and the public? It is a fact: American can fail and fall!

Certainly, it is an unusual person who can go to Washington, Tallahassee or City Hall and remain the same person they were when elected. It is an uncommon person who can stand - alone if necessary - on an unpopular platform because he'd "rather be right than president." It is a unique person who can deny the personal request of a friend because it is not in the best interest of the majority. (I'm sorry you overextended your resources in hopes of flipping that house for a profit, but it's not government's job to reward you for making a poor choice.)

It's an intelligent person who can weigh the past, reflect on the present and decide "enough is enough" for the future. It will take an unordinary person - in a time when more people depend on the government for their existence than ever before - to admit "that government which governs the least governs the best." (Does Katrina ring a bell?)

It is a novel person who can keep the public trust above his personal interest, payback to cronies and know "accountability" is more than a word in the dictionary.

And finally, it will be a rare individual who will pledge to the people that he will work to return the government to its rightful owners in order that it can once again be a government of the people, by the people and for the people.

If he or she can and does, who knows, maybe - just maybe - 2008 will be a year we begin putting America back on the foundation on which it was built - under God.

Bill Pearce
The Villages

My more simplistic approach, given the way our elected representatives act as described in the letter-to-the-editor, is to vote as follows...

Vote for the candidate with the least experience in elected office in Washington regardless of party or campaign platform. Then never vote for that candidate for re-election to a subsequent term.


Members of Congress, once elected, seem to immediately begin to play the fund-raising game with their "base constituencies" and other special interest groups in an attempt to gain re-election. If we throw them all out each term and start over, maybe some of the statesmen that were so effective in the growth of our nation will begin to re-emerge. If and when that happens I'll happily go back to the"old" way of selecting a candidate to vote for.