In Vino Veritas
Posted by Robinson O'Brien-Bours
P.J. O'Rourke
makes the suggestion that before we let any politicians talk to the public they should have some
uisce beatha flowing through their veins. He does make a good point about the oratory of today.
"It's no longer the dark arts of grandiloquence that obscure our politicians' thinking. Barack Obama sounds like a junior professor who won't yield the floor at a faculty senate meeting." Americans yearn for someone who speaks with passion, not someone who lectures them. It is the only way to explain the brief spectacle of Donald Trump. Most politicians today are so guarded, veiled, or vague in what they say that it hurts the power of the debate. We need someone who can not only explain the policy proposals necessary to right our country, but who can convince us of their merits and move our souls toward meeting the challenges at hand. Perhaps a happy hour or
symposium now and then before a debate or press conference wouldn't hurt!
: include(/srv/users/prod-php-nltashbrook/apps/prod-php-nltashbrook/public/sd/nlt-blog/_includes/promo-main.php): failed to open stream: No such file or directory in
: include(): Failed opening '/srv/users/prod-php-nltashbrook/apps/prod-php-nltashbrook/public/sd/nlt-blog/_includes/promo-main.php' for inclusion (include_path='.:/opt/sp/php7.2/lib/php') in
Apparently, we only allow for that kind of thing these days via Twitter. Just ask Congressman . . . um, er, *cough* Weiner.
Yes, it might not hurt the political debate, but it might hurt the politicians. The problem is that they often do not know what they are talking about or, as O'Rourke suggests with his examples, since they don't know what they are talking about, they are likely to talk about themselves, which is something they do know about.
Isn't this why Paul Ryan is so appealing? He looks so uncomfortable when he is pressed to talk about himself and when I saw him in that situation, he changed the subject back to the budget. Maybe he even talks about it when he's got "beer goggles" on.
Thank you for the chuckle-inducer of O'Rourke on a tear.