* Forwarded (from: FIDOGUNS) by Roy J. Tellason using timEd 1.10.y2k.

From: "gus_gere" 

You may appreciate this article.

Bizarre Politics

I can't recall ever having written a commentary on California politics.
That's because, from afar, politics in California seem to be as complex,
byzantine and sometimes downright weird as those in the Middle East. And
I've had more experience in the Middle East than in California.

Nevertheless, I can say this: Arnold Schwarzenegger is perfectly qualified
to be a governor. Whether he will be elected or not is another question,
and I don't have a clue. I can't think of anything more uncertain to bet on
than the outcome of a California election.

But let me tell you why he is qualified and at the same time poke the air
out of a myth created by politicians that holding public office in this
country is somehow complex and difficult. That's a load of
self-aggrandizing horse apples. Buying into the notion that people need an
"experienced" politician is like deciding you need an
"experienced" prostitute.

The job of a governor of any state is to make decisions and make
appointments. Schwarzenegger has demonstrated far better than most
professional politicians that he can do that. He is intelligent. His whole
life reveals that he knows how to set goals, analyze what is required to
achieve those goals, find the people who can help him and then discipline
himself to accomplish them. He has, so far, accomplished every goal he has
set for himself.

Nobody should underestimate a guy who can come to this country practically
broke and become a millionaire in his early 20s. He parlayed his
bodybuilding title into a mail-order business, made sound investments in
real estate and graduated with a degree in business from an American
university. When he set out to become a movie star, he carefully chose the
right parts, recognizing that he was not a great actor but that in the
movie business you don't have to be. You just have to look right in the
part.

A lot of professional politicians are people who never accomplished
anything except to campaign perpetually for public office. It's not far off
the mark to say that they've spent their lives conning the people into
giving them what apparently many Americans value little -- their vote.

When America first started out as a republic, as a rule most elected
officials were people who had achieved prominence in private life,
excelling in something. Today, most politicians were nobodies until they
won their first election. Pick the names of your own local politicians and
ask yourself, had I ever heard of these people before they got into
politics? With rare exceptions, the answer is "no."

We would have a much better government if we turned to people who had solid
achievements in the private sector and persuaded them to go into public
office. The present system rewards mediocrity simply because these people
can win a popularity contest, commonly called an election. They usually do
so with some special-interest money and staff hired to put words into their
mouths and thoughts into their heads. I was in that business at one time,
and most Americans would be appalled if they knew how brainless and
incurious some of their elected officials actually are.

It's ironic when the subject of actors comes up, because that is precisely
what most professional politicians are. They dote on their appearance, read
lines written by someone else and get their jollies from public applause.
The only difference between most professional politicians and actors is
that the actors are usually more intelligent.

So don't let politicians and political junkies in the press con you into
believing that serving in public office in this country is space science.
Anybody with an average intelligence and a little common sense can do it.
In fact, you ought to consider it yourself.


http://reese.king-online.com/Reese_20030811/index.php=20

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