Boobs of Another Sort

I learned a valuable lesson yesterday: in order to maximize the number of comments left in response to a post, I should write about either breasts or cute deer (14 comments each). I even found this at Jessica's blog Indexed this morning:


And so, Dear Readers, in line with the philosophy that one should reinforce success, I have decided to write this morning about...Senate confirmation of nominees for public office.

No, wait, stay!! It's interesting, I promise!

One of the interesting things about living in the National Capital Region is the intricate political kabuki dance that occurs each time the president nominates a candidate for an office which requires Senate confirmation of the nominee. Because our political system requires that all nominees for high office be of sterling character and, preferably, virgin birth, confirmation hearings provide an extra-large ring in which the Congressional circus can perform. If you want to laugh and cry (at the same time), Senate confirmation hearings are just made for you.

This article by Tom Korologos, who has assisted more than 300 presidential nominees prepare for their confirmation hearings, appeared in yesterday's Washington Post op-ed section: Obama Nominees Take Note. The article is a part tongue-in-cheek, part serious look at preparing for the confirmation process, and this is the key point:

"Remember that most of the hearing will be more about the questioners than about you."

If you've ever suffered through Senate hearings on any topic, you doubtless have noticed that Senators will frequently blather on ad nauseum until you (and the unfortunate witness) have forgotten what the original question was...if, in fact, there ever was a question. Confirmation hearings aren't about the nominee, who is required to sit with bovine placidity, wishing he (or she) were somewhere else, while a bunch of earnest-looking Senators use him (or her) as a dart board on which to score political points against the administration or advance their own agendas. Senators like to hear themselves talk. Vice President-elect Biden, who was recently (and elegantly) described in a recent magazine article as a "hair-plugged windbag," is only one example.

Here's another quote from the article:

"Accept that the hearing will not be fair. The Constitution protects you only to the hearing-room door. You have no rights, there is no provision for "objecting." Hearsay questions are allowed. A U.S. senator can ask any question he or she chooses. So be polite and deferential."

Translation: the only reason for you to be here to provide an excuse for the Senators to thunder down at you from their elevated seats. If you try to point out that a particular question is stupid, unfair, or utterly unrelated to evaluating your qualifications for the post to which you have been nominated, you'll go down in flames. It's not personal...it's just how the confirmation process has turned into a bizarre circus which ensures that the most qualified persons will have no interest in pursuing public service.

This is how we end up with unqualified political hacks who draw large salaries while allowing New Orleans to be destroyed and the economy to swirl down the toilet.

Read the entire article. It's interesting, sobering, and worth your time.

And if you like boobs, you'll understand why we end up with so many of them in high office.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo