Karl and me

I can't tell you how weird this is. It turns out that I am in agreement with a political figure that I never thought I would be. I don't know whether it is a sudden jolt of rational behavior on his part or my not doing any research to understand what made him so despicable in the first place, but here I am agreeing with someone who is usually vilified by just about everyone.

I don't pay attention to politics or Washington happenings generally - only if they affect me or my job. In all fairness, I'm a math nerd and a finance jock who likes to cook, workout (so I can eat what I cook) and bookbind. I don't have a lot of time in my life for paying attention to politics. Maybe that makes me a bad American. Or maybe I just have other things to contribute to our fine nation.

Sure, I care about America. I'm proud to be an American (just like Lee Greenwood). This ad makes me ooze girly patriotism in the form of tears. I stand at attention and sing along to "the Star Spangled Banner" when I hear it. I wear red, white and blue on the 4th of July. I wear red, white and blue when I go to Cubs games. :)

Politics, politicians and the average American's seeming love of being pandered to are really the only things I dislike about this country. Mind you, I'm not anti-government, just anti-stupid government. I think government is important and necessary. It saves us from our selves. It makes tough decisions that we as individuals wouldn't make on our own. Like the friend who is good at math and is always held responsible for making sure that everyone pays up at group dinners, government makes sure we all chip in for our parks, police and fire departments, roads and libraries. At least, that's what I think it should do.

It shouldn't play favorites. [Warning: crazy analogies ahead.] As the "adult" in our society, it shouldn't pick on the same guy all the kids are picking on just because it wants to be more popular. It shouldn't blame the guy it saw trying to defend himself in the schoolyard, it should blame the kid who started it. It shouldn't hand out free all-you-can-eat cupcakes to kids, thereby making them obese*, as another way to gain popularity. As the "coach" driving the strategy for our country, it shouldn't keep our team from playing the better teams in the league simply because we might lose, because they'll never win the state championships with that sort of treatment! Are these analogies getting a little too far-fetched?

Lemme 'splain.

[Restated: It shouldn't play favorites. It shouldn't pick on the oil companies that most Americans like to blame for the prices they pay at the pump, just because it wants to be more popular**. It shouldn't blame oil companies for prices increasing, it should blame commodity speculators or maybe even its citizens for becoming too dependent. It shouldn't implement a gas tax holiday, thereby making Americans willing to consume more gas (and really only save $40), as another way to gain popularity. It shouldn't keep American companies from competing against foreign competitors simply because we might lose, because they'll never become competitive in the global economy with that sort of treatment!]

I know I don't write a political blog. This may be my only political post, due to my aforementioned dislike of politics. Or maybe not, because I do need to step up my level of attentiveness by November to decide who I could stand to have as president. But I had to share this with you, because it is crazysauce (as the kids say, or at least as Patrick says):

I totally agree with Karl Rove***.

Whoa. Promise not to hate me, ok?

* OK, obesity is another thing I dislike about this country.

** If there really is unfair collusion resulting in excessively high profits, this should be looked at from an anti-trust perspective, but I haven't seen that argument yet.

*** If this link doesn't work for you, due to the Journal's 7 day limits on viewing links, send me a note and I'll email you the article.