Career Politicians Taking Credit for the Work of Others. Is Anyone Surprised?
By Dale Glading | The Save Jersey Blog
“It’s amazing how much can be accomplished if no one is concerned with who gets the credit”
– John Wooden, former UCLA men’s basketball coach, named the greatest coach of all-time by the Sporting News
In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings, something struck me as being not only out-of-place, but also completely inappropriate.
I am referring to politicians taking credit for apprehending the suspects – killing one and capturing the other.
First, it was Secretary of State John Kerry lavishing praise on President Obama, as if he had single-handedly tracked down the Tsarnaev brothers…
Then it was Boston mayor Thomas Menino, previously known best for his malapropisms, running after the cameras during an endless stream of photo ops.
It reminds me of the hunt for Osama bin Laden. Utilizing information gathered by employing the oft-criticized but highly effective interrogation tactics of the Bush Administration, Navy Seal Team 6 finally located and killed America’s Public Enemy #1. That launched the Obama victory tour, an unseemly and self-congratulatory period during which President Obama and his inner circle spent months traveling the country and patting themselves on the back. In fact, they didn’t stop carping on the subject until after he had been successfully re-elected.
Talk ad nauseam about bin Laden, but defer answering questions about Benghazi until after the election – if then.
Somehow, I can’t imagine Presidents Truman, Kennedy or Reagan taking credit for the courage and hard work of the military and law enforcement officers serving under them.
But that’s what it has come down to – career politicians seeking to brandish and embellish their foreign policy credentials. I guess nothing wins votes like appearing to be tough on crime, especially if an officeholder doesn’t have to get his hands dirty or his suit wrinkled in the process.
This just wreaks of sour grapes. Had this happened in New York and President Bush and Rudy Giuliani were still in office, you along with other conservatives would be lauding them as heroes as they were being plastered all over the covers of Time and Newsweek just as they were after 9/11. You want to give the people you support all the praise and credit and when the other side gets in, it's thanks to your guys being in power beforehand. Sorry, but that that's beyond immature and petty.