UPDATE: For fun, I decided to see what other Virginia blogs had on this topic. See Other Views down below.
When I was little, I ran around the house with a towel draped over my back. With a simple towel tied to my neck, I pretended to be Superman. No obstacles existed I could not overcome. No villain could stand before ME and be victorious.
So it is that years latter I thoroughly enjoyed Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson. As an adult, it was easy to recognize and be amused by the absurdity of a little boy’s fantasies.
We never outgrow our fantasies. Just as we never cease to dream, we never cease to wish for our desires to become real. So it is we elect leaders who promise us the sun, the moon, and the stars. We believe them because we want to believe them, not because they can make our desires real.
Consider the latest escapades of Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Yesterday, the Washington times reported Pelosi admits waterboard briefing. Amazingly, she also accused the CIA of lying to Congress. Today the Washington Post reports the CIA Chief Rebuts Pelosi’s Charges. This is the current CIA Chief, Leon Panetta, an appointee of President Barack Obama. Pelosi’s charge is so absurd Panetta had no choice except to deny the charge of lying.
What possessed Pelosi to make such a charge? Wondering, I listened to the press briefing where she made it.
Pelosi begins with self laudatory comments. She talks about “her job” and her accomplishments. Does Pelosi live in a dream world? She obviously wants us to view everything about her through a prism that mirrors only her successes. Any evidence contrary to the view of her perfection must be the creation of vile enemies.
Imperfection, however, is the normal human condition. We all are inadequate. Even Pelosi admits limitations. Within the text of the prepared statement that prefaced this now infamous press conference, she says the following:
Like all Members of Congress who are briefed on classified information, I have signed oaths pledging not to disclose any of that information. This is an oath I have taken very seriously, and I have always abided by it.
Without saying so, Pelosi implies she was hobbled by her oath. Because she could not tell anyone about waterboarding, she could not stop waterboarding from happening. Later, she offers her solution.
Congress and the Administration must review the National Security Act of 1947 to determine if a larger number of Members of Congress should receive classified briefings so that information can be utilized for proper oversight and legislative activity without violating oaths of secrecy.
Given how notorious Washington D.C. is for leaks, one wonders at the advisability of briefing more members Congress on the CIA’s secrets. But what is revealing is that Pelosi felt she was unable to do her job, exercise Congressional oversight.
Compare the size of the CIA with the rest of the U. S. Government. Is secrecy the real obstacle? Our Federal Government cannot set priorities so it can control its spending. Consider this chart from Wikipedia (here).
In 2010, Federal spending is projected to be $3.6 trillion, and the deficit will exceed $900 billion. These are numbers we have trouble imagining. Nonetheless, as of 2008, the Federal Government employed 4.206 million people (here). Does Pelosi or anyone in Congress have any idea what most of these people are doing?
As strange as it must sound to some, we do not in fact depend upon supermen or superwomen to lead us. There are no such people. So we each must look first to God and then to our immediate supervisor for whatever guidance we can get. Those at the top of the human hierarchy are isolated from us. Certainly, very few government employees are known to Nancy Pelosi or Barack Obama, and the percentage of citizens known to them is even tinier.
What the Nancy Pelosi’s and the Barack Obama’s know is how to get themselves elected. They know how to buy airtime, print bumper stickers and make pretty speeches. They know, like the blow fish, how to puff themselves up and make themselves look impressive and powerful. What they don’t know is how to do is provide real leadership.
Real leaders accept their own limitations. They don’t pretend they can solve all the world’s problems. They insist their followers must take personal responsibility for themselves. Instead of amassing and centralizing power, leaders delegate authority and decisions down the chain. Unfortunately, our leaders in Washington D. C. seem only interested in puffing themselves up. One wonders how long will this fantasy will continue. Hopefully, it will end before the money runs out.
Other Views
The Virginian tells us why he likes Dick Cheney (here).
From On High quotes the CIA Chief (here).
Fishersville Mike wonders if Pelosi is about to lose her crown (here).
Alexa Shrugged observes that Democrats don’t like getting a taste of their own medicine (here).
SWAC Girl calls on Pelosi to resign (here).
84Rules has no doubt about who is lying (here).
Question: Don’t the Democrat blogs have anything to say about Speaker Pelosi and the CIA ?
