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Without dipping too deeply into the platitudes of which bad writing is born, one can assuredly generalize the job of a politician: to make people feel happy, well-represented and heard.
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In this, U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold exemplifies a good politician. He is respectful without seeming insincere. He doesn't, for example, ooze smarminess like Gov. Jim Doyle. He takes serious questions seriously and shrugs off ranting. Like President Obama, Feingold has a certain cadence in his speaking style. His gestures feel natural. He pokes fun at the false and eminently quotable "outrage" of his colleagues. He stops by once a year for coffee.
Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blegojevich, just past his arraignment on corruption charges, was ripe for scorn at my family's Easter table. Beyond his impeachable crimes, Blegojevich was profoundly hated for his arrogance, disconnect from citizens and wastefulness. Tollway signs bearing his name cost Illinois taxpayers $480,000. Refusing to live in the governor's mansion in Springfield, Blegojevich flew back to his Chicago home after work. Blegojevich's lawyer, Ed Genson, called the executive mansion a "drafty place" and said he was "insulted" to stay the night in Abraham Lincoln's bed because it's in the smallest bedroom.
The telecast image of Blegojevich landing at O'Hare while lawmakers simultaneously voted on his impeachment typified his term as governor, my brother-in-law said.
Politicians, take heed: Don't let your lawyer tell the press he's too good for Abe Lincoln's bed. Don't become the poster child for corruption. Refrain from hanging your name all over the state if it costs almost half-a-million dollars. Avoid sticking up your nose at the 16-room manor the voters gave you, or pretty soon Spoof.com will be telling everyone your hairpiece can be seen from outer space, too.
Like all (better) politicians, Feingold works the room. Among the 100 people at his Monday listening session in Chetek, there were happy types and hostile types, citizens who wanted to introduce a topic into the public forum and others who showed up just to disagree with him. He took it in stride. Even if you couldn't agree with the guy in principle, he was smart enough to be decent about it. Or smooth enough, the suspicious-minded would say.
Either way, witnessing democracy in action is always encouraging. I'm equally glad to see the organization of taxpayer tea parties around the country today. From the overly self-concerned populace of the 1990s, we as a country seem to be moving toward a more politically active period, where politicians are held responsible for their actions and citizens don't tacitly accept laziness, corruption or arrogance.
In such a time, the Feingolds of the political scene will likely survive, and the Blegojeviches-who never should have been voted in at all-will hopefully be found out and flushed out to make room for deserving predecessors.
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©The Chetek Alert 2010
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