When considering some of the misadventures we see in the administration of our government, it is oftentimes difficult to determine whether a government agency, department, or official is incompetent or corrupt; there is not always a bright line between these two realities. Another complicating factor in this dynamic is this question: Which is worse…a smart crook or a stupid administrator?
I
will submit for your consideration the following choice...Bill and Hillary
Clinton were no doubt corrupt throughout their political careers. However, there is also little doubt that they
were clever, intelligent people capable of accomplishing some remarkable
things. Bill was twice elected to the
presidency and Hillary was a U.S. Senator and Cabinet Secretary. The simple fact remains that the last time
our federal budget balanced was under the second Bill Clinton Administration. Did
their obvious abilities to successfully manage the huge morass of government
largess override their clear tendencies towards graft and self-interest?
On
the other hand, we have someone like Pete Buttigieg. From all appearances, this man is a rather
benign individual whose naïveté borders on cluelessness. And from all indications, he appears to be
relatively well-intentioned and guileless.
Clinton was engaging in Oval Office sex games with young female interns
while he ran an efficient and effective Executive Branch. Buttigieg was nonchalantly riding his bike
around WDC and adopting children with his partner while allowing the Department
of Transportation to devolve into dangerous obsolescence. It is reported that he spent half of his
Department’s annual budget on DEI initiatives.
Choose your poison.
It
is a fair case to make that we see this same calculation in play with Donald
Trump. While there is simply no denying
the fact that his past unabashed behavior has exhibited some serious character
flaws and his ego sucks the air out of every room he enters…the first six
months of his second term have definitively shown us that the man has
remarkable political instincts, great judgment in selecting good policies, and
exhibits many of the aspects we all look for in a strong and capable leader. As my son-in-law oftentimes says… Is the juice worth the squeeze? Yes…it
would appear to be.
I
suppose at the end of the day, the harsh realities of life must rule this
decision process. It is simply not
reasonable to expect that we will elect saints and angels to serve in our
government. Very damn few of us qualify
under that standard and it is patently unfair to apply that standard to those
we choose to serve as leaders. Truth is…they might not be the best people
qualified for that type of work. We
would like for the best among us to serve, but they are not always among the
available choices presented.
While
readily acknowledging the inevitable presence of corruptive nature in our chosen
representatives, the type and quantity of that corruptive nature is certainly
open to legitimate and subjective assessment.
I dare say that most among us, regardless of our political leanings and
in our most honest moment, would readily accept the positive civic results of
Bill Clinton’s second term and Donald Trump’s last six months in spite of their
character deficiencies.
On the other hand, there is
essentially no justification whatsoever for our elected and selected government
officials to place individuals in positions of power and authority who are
incompetent to serve in their respective offices. Both national political parties are
sufficiently deep and wide as to offer up a selection of people who are sharp
enough to do a particular job in a particular capacity. The presence of patronage in our politics is
not the issue; it is the administration of that patronage that is the
problem. In my opinion, the greatest
example of this principle in my lifetime is…hands
down and without a doubt…the Biden Administration. Not only did this man populate our government
from top to bottom with senseless and incompetent people, but many of them were
corrupt to boot.
Obama’s
two Administrations did an inestimable amount of damage to our government and
our nation, but it was the result of bad policy and corruption…not a lack of intelligence. Biden’s Administration stands as harsh
reminder that no matter how onerous bad policy and corruption might be to our
government; the wages of civic incompetence pose a far greater and more
damaging threat to our lives. The reality of Joe Biden himself highlights
this point. If we elect a fool as
president, that is on us. But there is
simply no acceptable excuse for an Administration to put idiots in charge when
our nation, its citizens, and the federal workforce must suffer the
consequences of their stupidity. To me,
this is the greatest act of malfeasance that might be committed by an elected
official…particularly a president.
Like
many people, I am infuriated and disillusioned by the recent revelations
regarding the Russiagate hoax that began in the second Obama Administration and
bled over into the first Trump Administration.
It sorely tests the aforementioned opinion that competence overrides the
concern for corruption. I would love to
see Donald Trump take advantage of every moment left in his second term to
pursue the policy initiatives that he has so successfully begun; the clock is
ticking on his four-year term and time is too precious to waste on settling old
scores and digging up bones. However,
some transgressions are sufficiently serious as to demand they be thoroughly
investigated, exposed, and equitable accountability be dealt out. It strikes me that Russiagate clearly falls
into this realm.
I
want to make two more quick points before addressing this issue with a comprehensive
set of links. First off…I would love to
see the Trump Administration vigorously pursue the investigation of this issue…but
to do so in a deliberate, transparent fashion that is not constantly in the
headlines. Also…I’d like to see it pay
due respect to the good investigative work that has previously been done
instead of replowing the ground already prepared. Secondly…it would be beneficial to up front
admit that many of the available remedies to the Russiagate misbehavior will be
of a political nature as opposed to criminal punishment. The plain fact is that a lot of immoral and
unethical stuff happens in our government that is vile and disgusting, but
simply does not entail criminal liability.
In these cases, we must all be satisfied with a full disclosure of the
wrongful acts committed and who did them.
In these cases, the accountability must be the exposure of the truth and
the resulting badge(s) of shame that shall
be
worn by the culpable parties.
https://www.nationalreview.com/2025/07/russiagate-revisited/
https://thefederalist.com/2025/07/29/the-russia-collusion-hoax-is-worse-than-you-think/
https://thefederalist.com/2025/07/25/john-brennans-5-lies-that-set-russiagate-in-motion/
https://thefederalist.com/2025/07/24/the-intelligence-community-needs-to-be-dismantled/
The
spectacle of the New York City mayoral race is interesting…to say the
least. The very real prospect of an
openly and enthusiastic socialist winning that race is mind boggling. Given the consequences of Democrat liberal
and progressive governance in states like California, Minnesota, New York,
Illinois, Oregon and cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Minneapolis/St.
Paul, New York City, Chicago, and Portland…it is astounding that the Democrat
Party is polling anywhere near the pitiful numbers it is experiencing. Just consider some of their policies…
https://amgreatness.com/2025/07/28/the-graveyard-of-progressive-misadventures/
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2025/07/medicaid-fraud-worse-than-you-can-imagine.php
https://reason.com/2025/07/24/did-usaid-really-save-90-million-lives-not-unless-it-raised-the-dead/
https://americanmind.org/salvo/the-radical-left-mainstreams-political-violence/
https://amgreatness.com/2025/07/23/uncivil-union/
With
the emergence of new vitality and optimism in our national economy, what might
we look for in that area and other aspects of American culture and society that
could break the years-long curse of wokeness, progressive lunacy, and liberal
stupidity?
https://justthenews.com/government/white-house/2024s-doom-and-gloom-now-2025-trump-boom
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2025/07/a-classic-democratic-party-fail.php
https://americanmind.org/salvo/against-empty-civics/
https://www.nationalreview.com/2025/07/a-great-start-for-trump-on-ai/
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