By Claire Parsons
I make it a rule to state the obvious at least once a day. Lucky you, I’m making today’s statement in this lovely column. Here goes nothing: American politicians are more concerned with publicity than they are with doing their jobs. Shocked? If you answered yes, then you, my friend, are either a moron or incredibly naïve. If you answered no, then you are not only one of the legions of American cynics, but also my comrade.
Though cynicism is my official stance on most political issues in this country, I did have hope for one individual in Washington. I thought there was one person in the federal government who had enough popularity and enough character to shake things up and make a difference. Who is this enigmatic character, this person that is somehow a politician and yet still retains his soul? None other than John McCain. Good old McCain. The real common man. The maverick who fought tooth and nail to pass a campaign finance reform bill despite the wishes of his party. John McCain, the senator who called Bush on his hypocrisy in his dealings with the crisis on Wall Street at a time when so few others would dare to say a word. John McCain, the badass from Arizona who will save our apathetic government from itself and make Americans believe again.
Yeah, that’s what I thought. Note the use of the past tense. John McCain was the great white hope. Of course, that was before I heard about him ditching a vote on a defense spending bill to rehearse for his appearance on Saturday Night Live and promote his new book.
Before the $355 billion bill reached the floor, McCain went on the record calling the bill “wasteful spending.” However, when the bill came up for a vote, he was not present. The bill passed 93-1, so McCain’s presence would not have stopped the bill from passage. But if he thought the bill so wrong that he would go out of his way to criticize it on the record, why couldn’t McCain take time out of his busy schedule to show up and vote? Here’s why: he had to be in New York to rehearse for SNL and to appear on Hardball with Chris Matthews. Maybe the bill wasn’t that wasteful after all. It only had what McCain claimed was $7.4 billion worth of “unrequested” military programs. I suppose $7.4 billion really isn’t that big of a deal, as long as you have a book to sell and publicity to grab.
If it were ten years ago, I might be able to understand John McCain’s actions. I would skip things a lot more important than a Senate vote on a bill that would inevitably pass if I could have the chance to rehearse with Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, Chris Farley, Adam Sandler, and the rest of that great cast. However, SNL sucks right now and has for a long time. McCain neglected his job to work with Jimmy Fallon. That’s pathetic. If you’re going to ignore your duty to your constituents, John, next time do it for funny comedians.
Don’t get me wrong. John McCain still does a better job than political creepy-crawlies like Tom Daschle or Trent Lott. I guess I had some lofty ideas about McCain that now have to be readjusted. By necessity, all politicians play the publicity game. I’d like to think that if only politicians were brave enough, they could rise above the pettiness of seeking and retaining one’s office, but we all know that’s not true. The problem is not the politicians. Yes, there are some that are, to be blunt, purely evil, but most politicians must start with the intent of serving some nobler purpose. McCain is one of the decent politicians, even though he succumbed to the addiction of publicity like so many others. Perhaps asking our elected officials to ignore the petty demands of publicity may be too much to expect, although it is not too much to ask.
