What we should expect from public officials

If you haven't heard, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's recent veto message of a bill sponsored by a legislative detractor contained a four letter epitaph apparently aimed at that specific legislator. Here's NPR's report:



What drives my commentary on this, however, is the response written by Prof. Jack Pitney at Claremont McKenna College in the National Review. His conclusion is that,

Nobody should expect elected officials to be perfect in their private lives. But we can expect them to behave like adults in their public lives. By pulling a stunt that would land a junior-high-school kid in detention, the governor has flunked this standard.

I agree that this is a bad reflection on the Governor's character, and his ability to govern, but want to disagree with Pitney's argument that we should not expect elected officials to be exemplary in their private lives. While perhaps perfection is a high standard which none of us are able to attain, we should expect a standard from public officials that is higher than the average individual on the street. Because of their position of influence on governmental decisions and their role as examples for the rest of the citizenry, we should expect a higher standard of excellence from those we choose to represent us.

A person's private life may not be public business, but it is often a reflection of that individual's relationships with other leaders and officials, their honesty and integrity in holding public office and their dealings with others, as well as their ability to handle situations that may arise in the act of governance. Voters who have little information about the actions and decisions that a candidate for office would take can often use the behavior and character of that individual in their private affairs as relatively good indicators of the candidate's ability to govern. A candidate who lacks civility when dealing with his or her own family, friends, or even campaign staff will likely lack the civility and character necessary to interact with other public officials. In Minnesota in 2006 it was Democrat Mike Hatch's character and aggressive behavior in calling a reporter a "Republican Whore" that indicated to voters that he was not suited for the governor's office. Private character is still character and many of the same attributes displayed in private carry over into the public life and the public official's ability to accomplish legislative and executive roles.

A public official, however, is more than just a legislator, an executive, or a council member. He or she is also a representative and an example for the rest of the community. Edmund Burke described his qualifications for public office not in terms of his policy positions, but rather explained in his speech to the electors of Bristol that his election was a result of the voters' "good opinion [which] has carried me to this happy point of success." Even when representation is about representing views and opinions it is also about the type of example these leaders are setting for our families, our children, and our community.

A public official's private behavior is more than his or her own. It is both an indicator to the public of his or her ability to accomplish legislative or executive tasks in an efficient and positive manner and an example to the rest of the community. As a result, we should expect exemplary behavior from our public officials in their public and private lives.

Hey Hey You Say....

Check out around 2:12.

Update: Check out this link, the video above is out of sync, but the band won't let you embed the official video

Maybe you can't tell, but we were rehearsing just such choreographed moves as are seen in above music video. Little did we know back then that we were setting a trend in music video production. (Geneva, NY)

Interesting how music comes and goes, but this simple, I want to be noticed and slightly weird, but not over the top never seems to go away. Take this 1997's version (and forgive the slightly awkward video)

It's been a while and not a whole lot is new. Even in music it seems.

What endures...

"The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it."  -William James

(Eureka, UT July 2009)

My family is buried here, in a town which grows still smaller in the mountains of southern Utah.  The mines have dried up, and people have moved on with a few exceptions and even the town was officially disincorporated.  There's nothing left of the physical home they created except a few now wild roses which my great-grandmother planted. 

Yet as I look at this picture again, remembering the miserable heat, and the pestering flies that day, it is not the disappearance of the family home or the community, but rather the figures that walk around the places where their ancestors tread that stand out.  While the saloon my great-grandfather ran is gone, along with his house and farm, that family is what remains. 

My great-grandparents shaped both the town they lived in and the children they had but it is the latter that carries the stronger evidence of that influence.  While our professions and communal responsibilities are important, it is our families that will continue to bear our influence beyond our own time.

We promise not to sit on our kids

On our balcony this spring we had a mother morning dove with two little ones.  From this experience we have learned two things:  1.  We will not sit on our own kids.  Besides the obvious discomfort it would cause our own children and the resultant civil action, such tactics leaves many observers quite unhappy because they cannot see the little ones.  Little ones, A and I have decided, should be shared with others who can be excited about their cuteness as well.  2.  If there are giants threatening behind a closed glass door, we probably would not just sit there on our kids and let them take pictures, we'd try and get the little one out of harms way.  (La Jolla, CA) 

We get our own go at it in December, raising little ones that is.  Hopefully without having to protect them from threatening giants.

Nominations

Kahl says my blog is all about baseball.
So, here's a link to McSweeney, one of his favorites, on the Sotomayor confirmation hearings.

And if you think the first question is irrelevant, check here

Enjoy.

Class

Getting early to the ballpark, you get to see things you wouldn't otherwise notice. Baseball, and most sports, aren't just about stepping out onto the field and playing, but involve lots of preparation, warming up, and repetition. TV doesn't give you that, nor does radio, but by being at the ballpark an hour or so before the game you see ballplayers for who they really are, and the effort they put into what they do.

Arriving an hour or so before the Padres-Mariners game on Wednesday, however, I was struck by an image of respect that I had not seen before. As soon as the national anthem is over players and fans return their focus to the game, yet this time, while the color guard marched off, the players from the Mariners stood at attention, just as I had been taught to do as a little one, until the color guard had exited the field.



In some small way I gained an added measure of respect for them who, in their own individual way, are trying to keep sacred things they view as sacred.

Looking for Dolphins

Winter comes in May in San Diego (La Jolla, CA)