Monday, April 16, 2007

State of the American Polity: People Are Paying Attention

The White House strategists fail to understand the resonance of the Justice Department’s firing of eight attorney generals with the American public as they offer their series of defenses. They vary from “nothing improper occurred” to “they serve at the pleasure of the President” to “this is a routine personnel matter”.

Most Americans have tremendous empathy for the eight AG's as many work in incredibly "political" business organizations where they have to watch their every step. Many show up daily at a job requiring them to navigate a political mine field. “What mood is the boss in today?” “How did the quarterly profits come in?” “Do they portend a hacking of thousands of loyal workers, a routine personnel matter?” “Will I be one of the fallen?”

People hate to see heavy handed leaders canning competent hard working employees for little or no reason. The company’s making billions more doesn’t reach deep into the heart of the average person. Likewise, replacing AG’s to set up the next political election is a cold stone in America’s sternum. More people watch the Justice Department firing story through the corner of their eye than our President thinks.

Everybody hates the pathologically arrogant CEO (a la Bush) and cringes when they have to interact with his slippery, conniving minion (Gonzales). The former’s decisions often have life altering impacts while the latter simply cannot be trusted. The apparently callous firings in the Justice Department, many people fear every day at work. For this reason, most Americans wanting the heart of America to beat again are paying attention.

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