Friday, October 24, 2008

Accountability

Across the top of my personal blog, I have the following axiom: ”A man must be accountable, else everything he does counts for nothing.” I did not write that in hopes of lecturing anyone, so much as it was to remind myself that I am responsible for what I write, and that I have a duty to remember what I owe to my readers and who I am meant to be. I put that at the top of my blog after I received an email from a Marine on active duty in Iraq, who had read my work and found it uplifting. I owe that guy an honest report every time, as do I owe it to everyone who takes the time to read my thoughts and analysis. I’m not perfect at it, but it’s there to remind me what I’m doing here as a blogger.

So, this week I have suddenly received a lot more attention than a guy like me ever usually gets, because some of the bigger luminaries have mentioned me. Some on the left have misquoted me and mocked me (so now I can give folks an accurate sense of how Sarah Palin must feel after a Couric interview), some on the right have taken comfort in my work, and some are just giving readers a chance to hear me out (thank you, Mr. Blogosphere).

Some folks cannot resist sending me emails to reinforce their point. A few folks, in emails and in comments to articles, have been trying to goad me into betting on the election. One fellow in particular tried to claim that if I did not put money up against him, that this would belie my ‘accountable’ claim. Of course he’s quite wrong; betting is not about accountability, it’s about greed, and about the morality of gambling on the outcomes of pivotal events in human history. I suppose such people could find an excuse to gamble on anything. Perhaps such people watch the news for a body count from the day’s murders, in some grotesque version of a ‘numbers’ game. Perhaps the war in Iraq and Afghanistan is, for them, amusement and an opportunity to gain some coin. Perhaps for every family praying for a lost child to return, there is a gambler putting money down on when the body will be found. For me, a national election is a solemn duty, a responsibility to put the best-qualified candidate into office, not an occasion for turning profit or focusing on personal gain.

The reason I am writing today, is that accountability is something this country badly needs to see more often from leaders. The present financial crisis has come about because so many people in finance, banking, and Congress have hid their actions and lied to cover their tracks. We are threatened by enemies who had America for it’s existence and founding principles, yet there are those whose first cuts would be against the defenders who have prevented 9/11 from happening again. It is up to us who are regular citizens, to speak out against the lies and for the defenders of our nation and its infrastructure.

As I wrote before, Accountable Americans understand duty. Accountable Americans respect sacrifice. Accountable Americans recognize the men who have put others first, and they recognize those who would put themselves first, and they are not fooled. In times of hardship, it is not McCain but Obama who would increase taxes and create higher unemployment by making it harder for smaller companies to hire and keep employees. It is not McCain but Obama who would increase opportunities for illegals in the U.S., who would principally take jobs held by minority citizens. It is not McCain but Obama who has taken hundreds of millions of dollars from private sponsors, whom he refuses to even identify, since the public would naturally wonder what sort of promises he made to get all that money.

It is not Obama but McCain who has suffered in service to his country. It is not Obama but McCain who has given generously to charity out of his own pocket. It is not Obama but McCain who has fought to protect the lives of unborn children. And it is not Obama but McCain, who when made aware of vicious comments about his opponent, immediately, directly and repeatedly called for his campaign to operate by ideals of respect and courtesy, asking hard questions but refraining from personal smears. These facts are undeniable, and make clear which sorts of character are present in each man.

Accountability means we recognize which candidate hides where he gets his money, and which has been honest about his past. Accountability means we vote according to what is right for the nation, not what we can get out of it. Accountability means we think about our families and the ideals of our nation, not the opportunity to punish some folks for success and threaten those who ask inconvenient questions.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well said.About all I could add is AMEN. I voted yesterday in Fl for McCain/Palin.

Lea said...

I agree. Well said and AMEN! Thanks and keep up the good work you are doing!

Devon said...

It is not Obama, but McCain who cheated on his first wife. It is not Obama, but McCain who financial and personal ties to Charles Keating.

It is not McCain, but Obama who donated his time as a community organizer. It is not McCain, but Obama who stood up to the prevailing political climate and said that a war with Iraq would lead to a protracted occupation. It is not McCain (who thinks some parts of America are "real" America, or "real" VIrginia), but Obama who is trying to unify this country.

Look, I understand that you and I disagree on a lot--but I respect your view on accountability. If Obama wins, then I would like to see some sort of polling analysis which seeks to understand this win, so that you understand how you are letting your preference for a victor drive your current polling analysis, and to let your readers understand. That would be accountability.

Anonymous said...

Re:Devon,

You are going to have a Casablanca moment like so many intelligent people who have been had by silver-tongued salesman, preachers, and self-help gurus.

We can play your game all day and long into the night:

It,s not McCain who refuses to have his college recordsreviewed.

It's not Mccain who endorsed Alexi Giannoulis--a guy whose bank loaned $10,000,000 to a convicted
mobster--for State Treasurer.

It's not McCain who launched his political career in the home of a guy--Tony Rezco-- now in solitary after committing fraud, embezzlement, influence peddling and a dozen other crimes.

It's not McCain who wrote a glowing endorsement of Bill Ayers book.

These things are all documented beyond any reasonable doubt even if Democrats think otherwise.

As I said, you and tens of millions are going to live
the truth of Bogie's caution from Casablanca (as we all will) if this ubercharlaton is elected:

"...You’re going to regret it. Maybe not today maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life."

You dimply do not know the Pandora's box you are opening. If you did, you could not conceive of voting for a guy who is being so secretive about his records at Columbia and Harvard he couldn't even be accepted into an ROTC program.

Anonymous said...

My question for DJ as to this polling analyst stuff is why Rasmussen has Obama up. Many on the right have considered them to be fairly accurate and not biased toward the left. So why would their polling be off?
Second, do you think Barney Frank's threat to cut the defense budget by 25% along with a tax increase will have any impact on the vote?
Thanks for your work and forget the toads who come to rant instead of argue your points.

Anonymous said...

I deeply appreciate the sincerity of your effort here, and share the Christian values you so courageously defend. A technical question though: With Obama seeming to pull away in the latest polls, does your analysis still hold reasonable hope for a McCain win? And, can this same analysis provide hope for wins in OH, PA, VA, and other critical states where polls give double digit leads to Obama? Further, given that you say it takes 10 - 14 days for events to impact polling, could not the final debate's impact hit just before election day? And sufficiently to put McCain over the top?

Anonymous said...

devon:

You said that "Obama is trying to unify this country."

Do you seriously believe that tens of millions of Americans are going to sit quietly still and allow socialism to be rammed down their throats? Do you?

You better wake up, man. As deep throat II said, "You simply do not know the Pandora's box you are opening."