Don’t. It is beneath the position to which they have been elected and one of the reasons our country is as politically divided as it is. If the electorate cannot believe its elected leaders, then nothing the leaders say, true or not, can or will be believed. Once a politician has the reputation of being a liar you will never have the thoughtful consideration of the electorate. It seems to me that our elected leaders should be held to a higher standard.
It is not just enough for our elected leaders to tell the truth. They must tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I’ll give you an unrelated example. There was a young boy hiding in the bushes with a stick in his hand as his sister was coming down the sidewalk. When she came abreast of where her brother was hiding he pushed this stick between her legs. She tripped and broke her arm. After they returned home, the mother quizzed the boy about his sister’s accident. She asked him “Did you trip your sister…and, tell me the truth”. He thought about it and decided the stick tripped his sister so he replied “No”. The mother then asked him “Did you break your sister’s arm… and, tell me the truth and the whole truth”. He thought about her question and concluded it was the cement sidewalk that broke her arm so he replied “No”. She then repeated the first question telling the boy that he must tell her “the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. It was only then that the boy had to fess up to the entire episode. So, it is not just enough for our leaders to tell us the truth…they must tell us the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Last week Mr. Biden told us that the problems at our southern border were the previous administrations fault because the previous administration’s transition team re: the border would not meet with the new administration’s transition team. In spite of members of the previous administration pushing back on Mr. Biden’s statement let’s assume that he was telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Again, I’ll use an example of what should have been done.
A uninvolved owner decided he needed to replace the CEO of his company. The owner was willing to give the current CEO a generous outplacement package if the current CEO would meet with the new CEO and explain everything that was going on in the company. The new CEO concluded quickly that the previous CEO left out a major division of the company. So, the new CEO brought his team together and directed them to find out everything about this division and told them that no changes would be made until everything that was needed to be known was known. It was only after this was achieved that the new CEO began to make the changes he felt were needed.
Whether or not the two transition teams ever met is not the issue at our southern border. The issue was caused by Mr. Biden’s precipitous executive order before he understood the situation. Further proof that he did not understand that in part, the situation is the overcrowding that exists on the southern border. Had he studied the impact of his decision before he made it, maybe todays situation would be different.
Lastly, on the subject of politicians telling the truth, if you are going to lie at least make it plausible. Mr. Biden’s accusation that it is Trump’s fault is beyond the pale. It was either not true or he never anticipated the results of his actions. Either way it is pitiful. And, he should have known that his most likely falsehood would just make his decision be that much dumber. If the idea to lie was his, then shame on him. If it was the idea of his advisors to lie, then they should be recycled back in the work force.
I’ll have more about the border in future blogs.