By Bob Gaydos

 If you still care about politics, if you still think that “the people” can make a difference in how this country is run and if you think that the proper way, the common-sense, decent, truly all-American way would be for politicians of all persuasions to work together as much as possible for the common good this has got to have been one of the worst summers of your life.
 
 The summer of the know-nothings and the yahoos. The summer of the shameless and the gutless.
 
 It began with the crowning of Pedro Espada Jr. as leader of the state Senate in Albany — by both parties at different times. A man under investigation for diversion of state funds, a man who defected not once, but twice, from the political party of the moment, wound up in charge of the supposed upper legislative body in Albany and had the gall to call it a reform movement. And no one in Albany had the guts to call it what it was — shameless political extortion — and no one was willing to work out a solution between Republicans and Democrats because no one wanted to lose control. Control of what I don’t know, because, clearly, Espada, with the most selfish of motives, was in control the whole time. If you, dear reader, can somehow hold out any hope for this group of senators to govern responsibly in the future, more power to you. I cannot. And if they do manage to surprise me it will be at least 20 years too late.
 
 But the really bad, really dumb, really outrageously idiotic stuff this summer has come on the national level from what used to be known as the Party of Lincoln. I have never registered in any political party, but I have friends who claim to be Republicans and I dare them now to publicly justify the hateful, spiteful, fiction-based attacks on our president that have followed any initiative he has proposed. They can’t, because there is no justification save the political one — the only way the GOP feels it can survive and regain strength is to attack Barack Obama on every front, to reject every overture from him to work together, even on worthy causes, but mostly to spread lies and fear among a distressingly large segment of the population that has proven to be as gullible as P.T. Barnum observed.
 
 The Birthers and the Death Squad people and the “he’s a Socialist,” “he’s a Nazi” people — and the politicians who allow them to get away with it — have not only sullied the name of the Grand Old Party, they have sold its soul. And, if you stop and think about it (which they don’t), they have rendered a harsh indictment on the education system of this country.
 
 What kind of  nation, after all, turns out so many people who are willing to take hateful fictitious charges — leveled at their newly elected president, no less — at face value? And, backed with nothing but fear and anger, to spread it? What kind of nation allows discussions about serious issues such as health care to be hijacked by lying attack dogs supported by the industry that stands to lose the most profits — the insurance industry? What kind of nation cringes when the yahoos unleash a storm of protest because their president — a man who inspired generations with his story of success against great odds — wants to deliver a non-political pep talk to American students returning to school?
 
 A once-proud nation that has lost its way, I fear.
 
 But wait. Oh, wait. Do my ears deceive me? Just when I have about given up all hope that Republicans will ever be able to comport themselves with some modicum of sanity again, comes a Republican behaving with, of all things, dignity.
 
 Bless you, Laura Bush. Bless you, bless you,  bless you.
 
 In the midst of all the Fox-led flame-throwing about the president’s speech to schoolchildren, the former first lady, in an interview with CNN in Paris, said, “I think there is a place for the President of the United States to talk to schoolchildren and encourage schoolchildren and I think there are a lot of people who should do the same and that is encourage their own children to stay in school and to study hard and to try to achieve the dream they have.”
 
 Shocking. By the way, that’s pretty much what Obama said.
 
 Mrs. Bush, a former teacher, also said that, with the redrawing of election districts into safe congressional seats where candidates with narrow ideological views can be elected and reelected repeatedly has come an increasing political polarization, with fewer people willing to work for compromise solutions. She said her husband, George W. Bush, found this when he moved from the Texas governor’s mansion to the White House. It was one of  his “real disappointments,” she said, and she said Obama was probably also surprised by the intensity of it.
 
 “I think it’s … really important for everyone to respect the President of the United States,” Mrs. Bush said, adding that she felt criticism of him as a socialist was unfair.
 
 “Do you think he is doing a good job?” she was asked.
  
 “I think he is,” she replied without a hint of worry of political repercussion from GOP attack dogs. “I think he has got a lot on his plate and he has tackled a lot to start with and that has probably made it more difficult.”
 
 Good grief, a reasonable statement by a well-known Republican about a Democrat. Some will note that Mrs. Bush, of course, is not seeking election to any office; nor is her husband. But neither is Dick Cheney. Asked about the former vice president’s non-stop attacks on Obama, Mrs. Bush said Cheney had “every right to speak out” and she appreciated that he was defending her husband’s administration. But she also noted that “George, as a former president, chose not to speak out. … He thinks the president deserves the respect and the no second-guessing on the part of the former president.”
 
 So Republicans are not wholly without dignity after all. It’s been a long time since the Bushes were their party’s saving grace, but they certainly provided the Republicans’ best moment all summer. Now, if they were only listening. 

Bob can be reached at bob@zestoforange.com.

Tags: Add new tag, Bob Gaydos

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 9th, 2009 at 8:23 am and is filed under Bob Gaydos. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.