Prologue
Act One - Friends, Americans, and Countrymen Lend Me Your Votes
Chris Christie gave a speech the other day at the Reagan Library. This by itself would normally be the launching pad for an announcement for a presidential run. But after all was said and done, Christie reiterated that he wasn't running, saying "look at my videos." In the past, Christie has said that he's "not ready," etc. So unless Christie is the biggest tease since fan dancer Sally Rand, take him at his word.
We all have that little voice inside ourselves that tells us when we're not ready to do something. When I was studying acting, my acting coach talked a lot about "grounding yourself" before performing. Christie might realize in his heart of hearts that despite his bully boy antics toward feckless reporters and public employee labor union thugs; that what may play well on YouTube videos doesn't mean that he's ready to take on Vlad Putin or Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Another sign that a Christie candidacy is not a good idea right now is that former POTUS, George H. W. Bush wants him to run. His son Jeb is waiting for the 2016 Presidential election. Enough said.
Act Two - Compromise is an Overrated Concept
The definition of compromise according to the Encarta World Dictionary is:
- agreement: a settlement of a dispute in which two or more sides agree to accept less than they originally wanted
- something accepted rather than wanted: something that somebody accepts because what was wanted is unattainable
- potential danger or disgrace: exposure to danger or disgrace
All we seem to be hearing from Democrats and Obama is that Republicans won't compromise. Compromise what? And to what end? The recent budget ceiling compromise in August ended up with Democrats getting to spend money now while promising to cut spending in the distant future. Huh? What kind of compromise is that? And as far as Republicans are concerned, definition number 3 applies. When the word "compromise" played a prominent part of Christie's Reagan Library speech, hold on to your wallets.
Act Three - Why Republicans Eat their Own
According to the top vote getting response in "Yahoo! Answers" tigers eat their young in part because:
Male tigers will kill any cubs that are not their own if they can, and usually eat them. This is to reduce competition for themselves, and to bring the tigress into heat again so that he can mate with her and father his own young. Because male and female tigers do not live together, sometimes a male may accidentally kill cubs that he has fathered himself, but this does not happen often.
After George W. Bush, Republicans seem to be obsessed with electing a President that sounds good. Actually, this obsession with videogenics and the ability to articulate ideas, (even if they are stupid ideas like "hope and change"), began with the Kennedy-Nixon debates in 1960. Those that listened to the first debate on radio thought that Nixon won the debate. Those that saw on TV the awful make-up job on Nixon, thought that Kennedy won.
After sitting through several hiring committees that chose a candidate primarily because s/he had good interview skills, I can tell you that ALL of them turned out to be either mediocre or poor employees. Yes, I know that my evidence is purely anecdotal. But like the old New Yorker cartoon showing a judge whispering to another judge, "Sure it's hearsay, but it's damn good hearsay," my damn good anecdote evokes red flags whenever a fancy talker is trying to sell me something. Rejecting any candidate with an otherwise good record of accomplishment solely because s/he doesn't produce good sound bites or looks great in debates is silly. The Roman Emperor Claudius was considered a doofus because among other things he didn't speak well. He turned out to be one of the best Emperors that ever ruled the Roman Empire.
Christie is long on good soundbites, but short on accomplishments. Unlike Republican Governors Scott Walker of Wisconsin, John Kasich of Ohio, and even closet RINO Mitch Daniels of Indiana; Christie hasn't been Governor of New Jersey long enough to show that he's as good as Ann Coulter thinks he is. Those other governors are compiling records of accomplishment. Meanwhile, Texas Governor Rick Perry, a mediocre debater with a solid record of accomplishment, is being crucified by Michele Bachmann, the politically inert Rick Santorum, and Mit "Ned Flanders" Romney. Shouldn't they be putting forth their own ideas instead putting down a fellow Republican? Or are they working to help re-elect Obama by giving his campaign jackals good soundbites to use in his commercials?
Epilogue
A fancy talker is not necessarily the one for the job. Read the resume, but trust and verify before you make that hire. Four years can be a long time with the wrong President. Think about what those fancy words "hope and change" have brought you before you hire the next President.
