Family Legacies
A few years ago (yes, indeed, it has been that long) I cringed away in
fear from Hillary while publicly bemoaning her frontrunner status to, shamefully, not a few republican colleagues. What with the Bush and Clinton
swapping, America was starting to feel too much like 17th century
England. Keeping things all in the family, at first and second glance, is an anathema to the maintenance of liberal 21st century democracy. Even worse than the repealing of estate taxes. But even if we're
not supposed to hand down our estates...er, multi million dollar
businesses...to
our family heirs, we can't help passing down family legacies and the
numbers kept in the proverbial little black book. At least, in this
case, it doesn't seem confined to only the male heirs. Score one for
the 21st century.
But
I came to like and respect Hillary. In the end, I was really convinced that she cared, despite all the warts and boils. That she wouldn't have hung in there so long if she didn't want to do something good for the country. And I still think she wrote all of Bill's papers for him in college. I've never seen anyone so consistently *prepared* in my life.
Even from the start, we picked
favorite families. Who, I challenge you, was sitting in the
Continental Congress? Who were their fathers? And their sons? (Ben Franklin excluded). And we
vote for them all--and I don't know whether it's through intellectual
laziness, a desire to celebrate celebrity, having friends with money, or just that most Americans are not all
that involved in aiming the public spotlight.
So
I have a suggestion. Let's stop with the Camelot and the Obamalot and
the Clintonalot and the Bushalot. At least until we're willing to put
some teeth into the estate tax again. And just pick someone smart and
strong and capable. There are a million people in this country qualified to
lead in government. And yes, some of these hail from famous families.
Only we must make sure that the family legacy doesn't stray too far
from the woes of the rest of us.
If someone tell me why Ms. Kennedy *isn't* qualified, rather than come up with (the multitude of) people who may be *better* qualified...? And not just the "you know" stuff -- most of our politicians have annoying verbal ticks when they're not reading off the teleprompter. The "you know" is, after all, slightly less annoying than the "uuuuhhhh" or the "like," or the hybrid "like, you know." I'll subsidize a toastmasters membership for her. So show me the money, and I'll believe you. But until then, she seems at least as qualified as Al Franken and Chris Matthews. Or the Ahnold, or Ronald Reagan or Jesse Ventura or Elizabeth Dole or Bill Bradley or...
Oh, and on last thing. Despite the arguments supra, let's stay away from the Bushes. Must be something in the gene pool.
If someone tell me why Ms. Kennedy *isn't* qualified, rather than come up with (the multitude of) people who may be *better* qualified...? And not just the "you know" stuff -- most of our politicians have annoying verbal ticks when they're not reading off the teleprompter. The "you know" is, after all, slightly less annoying than the "uuuuhhhh" or the "like," or the hybrid "like, you know." I'll subsidize a toastmasters membership for her. So show me the money, and I'll believe you. But until then, she seems at least as qualified as Al Franken and Chris Matthews. Or the Ahnold, or Ronald Reagan or Jesse Ventura or Elizabeth Dole or Bill Bradley or...
Oh, and on last thing. Despite the arguments supra, let's stay away from the Bushes. Must be something in the gene pool.
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Careers seem to run in families...teachers seem to beget teachers, lawyers beget lawyers, doctors beget doctors. For ours it's military/law enforcement. Often times that is the case in politics, as well. Perhaps it is a simple as doing what you know, or growing up w/ an understanding/love of the field.
There are perks that go w/ every career, a leg up in every field, based on who you know, who is in your network...It's no different w/ politics, and I can't say it gives me any stomach acid. I know little about Caroline Kennedy, other than that even through my conservative days, I've always had a soft spot for the Kennedy's. I think most of us do.
I don't know that there is only one skill set that makes one "qualified" to be a Senator. I don't know that coming up through the ranks is the only acceptable way to get there. Having said that, I hope that she doesn't get it just because she's a Kennedy, but I hope she's not denied it just because she is, either. She seems like a breath of fresh air, but what do I know?
January 5, 2009 1:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
I agree! And I can come up with a lot more people I would rather NOT serve in her place.
January 5, 2009 1:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
What exactly constitues a "legacy?" Despite the so-called Kennedy legacy there has been exactly one Kennedy President. There was almost two. There was almost two Clintons and they aren't even the same bloodline. Two Roosevelts. Two Adams'. Two Bushes. (any others?) Hardly something resembling English Royalty of the 17th Century.
The whole legacy complaint never made much sense to me.
January 5, 2009 4:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
I guess people just have a hard time when they realize that we've got a little aristocracy in our collective bloodline. Sort of like when I realized the military wasn't a complete meritocracy.
January 5, 2009 4:11 PM | Reply | Permalink