What Price Loyalty?

Politics has always been a game. The majority of changes have been the players and the stakes. For over two centuries there have been two teams of lasting consequence. In a place where power and money are readily available and in large quantities, it is almost inevitable that there would come a time when somebody breaks the rules so blatantly that they deserve to have their head served up on a platter. What is amazing is that the guilty party still will have defenders regardless of the crime. The common cry is "It's a political witch-hunt!". While that may be true, let's examine those cases where the person is actually deserving of getting kicked out of town.

The most recent example is Attorney General Gonzales. His claim is that visiting John Ashcroft at his bedside in the hospital was not for the reason the then Acting AG Comey claim it was. Regardless of the actual reason, Gonzales is on shaky ground to claim any reason to visit Ashcroft, since Ashcroft no longer held the authority of the office of AG. Any action or decision taken based upon Ashcroft's approval would have been null and void as a matter of law, otherwise why bother with the formality of signing over the AG's powers to Comey?

Where am I going with this? What amazes me the most is when loyalty trumps common sense. With the innumerable blunders made by AG Gonzales, I start to ask why more Republicans have not withdrawn their support of him. I understand the desire to be loyal to one of their own party, but loyalty taken to that extreme can easily become blinders that keep the wearer from seeing the sunshine of the truth.

A politician who is willing to make excuses for the ineptitude of others -- Gonzales just being a current example -- has put politics before doing what is right.

What each political party could use is someone who is considered one of their own but who can still intercede in matters before members become so galvanized in their partisan trenches that they cease to see the damage they do to the party as a whole.

Professional sports leagues have commissioners that are hired by the owners to look out for the integrity of the game. In doing so, he can confront bad behavior, however legal it may be, with an eye for the broader prospective of the entire organization. He is entrusted make the unpleasant decisions that he can make because he doesn't represent an individual player or club. It is the highest expression of teamwork when teams themselves submit to a higher authority in the interest of the game itself.


When will the Republicans and Democrats realize that they need a Commissioner?