The Public Servant and the Politician: A couple of recent Charlie Rose interviews with former Defense Dept. officials help to explain the great divide that exists in Washington, DC. In the first, we are introduced to Ashton Carter, a largely unknown figure who studied Medieval History and Theoretical Physics as a Rhodes Scholar -- whose analysis of current events is highly perceptive and refreshingly honest. Notably, he seems to welcome leaving a position of power in the Washington bureaucracy. In contrast, career politician Dick Cheney, a poli sci major who schemed his way from a lowly position in the Nixon White House [concordmonitor/home/8869115-95/private-eye-looks-back-over-decades-of-dirt-digging-in-washington] to become George H.W. Bushs Defense Secretary during the Gulf War (and later CEO of oil services/defense contractor Halliburton -- courtesy of a public/private revolving door) -- ultimately selecting himself as George W. Bushs vice-presidential candidate (latimesblogs.latimes/washington/2008/06/cheney-secrets.html), the team that forced their way into office by using Republican appointees on the Supreme Court to shut down the vote counting in Florida. Most grievously, following the attacks of 9/11, Mr. Cheney sought to use the atrocities that occurred on their watch to advance wider GOP ambitions, repeatedly asserting that electing Democrats would make us vulnerable to further attacks (!). [dneiwert.blogspot/2004/09/vulnerable-indeed.html washingtontimes/news/2009/mar/16/cheney-hits-obama-policy-on-terrorism/?page=all] Despite millions in taxpayers dollars spent on his personal health care, this professional politician is remarkably ungrateful on a variety of levels, refuses to leave public life gracefully. [forbes/sites/kellyphillipserb/2012/03/28/cheneys-million-dollar-heart-stirs-health-care-debate-who-lives-and-who-dies/ and salon/2013/11/14/dick_cheney_even_bigger_monster_than_you_thought/]. Instead, this erstwhile conservative is doing his best to evade any legal/personal accountability for the catastrophically misguided policies of his (yes, it was largely his) administration. huffingtonpost/david-paul/dick-cheney-is-yelling-fi_b_5569428.html and theatlantic/international/archive/2014/06/dick-cheney-just-buried-the-bush-doctrine/373621/ Which one of these men received more media coverage -- the public servant or the politician? That explains much of whats wrong with Washington. And, no, thats unlikely to change. [6/25/14 Cheney interview: hulu/watch/653821.]
Posted on: Fri, 11 Jul 2014 16:45:28 +0000
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