Matters of Church and State

THIS TOO SHALL PASS

         It’s frustrating but comical at the same time to see the reactions of politicians and the news media over the latest “scandals” in Washington:  Benghazi, the IRS and the Tea Party, the Justice Department and the Associated Press, and only God knows what else is next up in the queue.

         The conservatives on Capitol Hill are running around like demented windmills, bumping into each other in an effort to schedule hearings.  And the news media, with all the perspective of gerbils on a wheel, plunge ahead as if they are on to something major that has never happened before.

         Meanwhile, right on cue, FOX News and the Tea Party wing nuts are intoning the dreaded word “Watergate” and drawing comparisons between President Obama and President Nixon.  Michelle Bachman and her ilk are even calling for the President’s impeachment.  The reason this works with a certain segment of American society is that Bachman and her Tea Party folks are painting on a fresh canvas.  For many of her adherents, history began yesterday, so these are brand new, unprecedented charges. 

         Which brings me to a larger point:   With all of the current emphasis on the U.S. falling behind in math and science competency, why does no one seem to be concerned about the abysmal lack of historical perspective that has such an enormous impact on American politics?  I am not talking about ancient history, just contemporary American history that would help put today’s events in some kind of rational perspective.  The lack of this perspective is what fuels the ignorance that fuels American politics.

         Some prominent examples:  Joseph McCarthy and the witch hunt he launched, the China Lobby and pernicious ramifications it had, giving birth to the domino theory that gave us Vietnam and 55,000 Americans dead.  The Iran-Contra scandal during the Reagan Administration’s second term.  Fourteen Reagan Administration officials were indicted.  Do any conservatives remember that?  President Reagan is not unique.  No party in recent memory has escaped the “second term blues.”  President Clinton and the Monica Lewinsky affair is a glaring example.  That overshadowed his entire second term, leading to his impeachment by the House of Representatives.  Yet, both Reagan and Clinton are now revered as icons in their respective parties.

         Can President Obama overcome these latest crises, his supporters nervously wonder?  Of course he can, unless these charges can be traced back to the White House and the Oval Office, and there is no evidence of that. So, my guess is that these charges are probably much ado about nothing -- or deja vu all over again.  The people seem to agree with the latest polls showing the President's approval ratings holding steady despite it all.

         So, in absence of White House involvement, the President has to put on a happy face and not escalate the crisis by over-reaction.  To that end, I was encouraged by a recent article in the New York Times about the President and his Chief of Staff Denis McDonough instructing the White House staff not to get distracted and to focus its attention on the critical agenda ahead: “revamping immigration laws, reaching a budget deal, and carrying out the health care law.”

         If the President is able to reach out to the other side and accomplish these three initiatives – or just two of the three -- he won’t make it to Mount Rushmore, but he will have accomplished a mighty agenda, considering what he has already accomplished despite the hand he was dealt when he came into office and the entrenched opposition he faced during his entire administration.

         So, for his supporters who may be wavering, let me assure you:  Hang tough -- take a look at recent Presidential history.  This too shall pass.

Jerry