David Rutter--Lake County News-Sun

AS I SEE IT Public utterings remain in orbit
March 8, 2008
You be the editor.
No, really.
You try it.
Let's see if it seems like a useful life's work to you.
You make the choices.
Let's say a mayor -- we'll call him Bonehead A -- utters something provocative, newsworthy, but arguably stupid. "Arguably" means it's true that he said it, but someone will want to argue about it. Count on the argument.
The first thing you learn in this job is that everyone wants to argue about everything, no matter how obvious the truth of it is.
And though you might do your utmost to understand why hizzoner is proposing something so assertively errant, he insists that's what he's saying, and he's sticking to it.
But that's not the end. Not hardly.
You know that once advisers around him hear what he's said, it's likely he'll come to whatever sense he has left and announce the next day that he never said it.
In the real world, you might call this a lie. In the realm of public policy, we call it "the being taken out of context" defense. It's the RU-486 pill of public discourse. It's meant to dislodge in the morning whatever was deposited during the previous evening.
So, Mister or Madame Editor, should you go ahead and tell the people who elected him what he's doing, just because someone once told you it's your job to do that? Or should you protect Bonehead A from his silly self?
And moreover, protect yourself from a liar-liar-pants-on-fire charge the next day?
I think it's generally more important to protect the citizenry from its zany elected officials than protect the officials from themselves, but that's just me. History suggests that's the wiser path to safeguard democracy, but public officials are not big on history. Or even democracy on most days.
As others have said, quoting an official with perfect accuracy can be the most effective punishment. But trust me, there's no need to trick or maneuver some public officials into making themselves look addlepated. They can do that on their own with no bidding. Mostly, you can't stop them. I've tried. They are a cussedly resilient lot.
You'll have just as much success lobbying an alcoholic to shun Michelob as you have telling a public official to settle down and think a little. Self-reflection is a rare trait.
But you'd be surprised how many people paid from public funds think it's somebody's full-time task to protect them from themselves. My job, I guess.
Yes, public officials get very agitated and dyspeptic when they are called to accounts. Or even quoted accurately.
Then there are quasi officials -- usually in the social service or sports arena -- who get upset when they are not saluted and rewarded for their good work, even when the question is not up for discussion at the moment. They are at the very epicenter of their universe and unlikely to move into a different orbit.
Apparently there is a deep craving for appreciation and public acclaim. It's the embodiment of Andy Warhol's prediction that the dawning Age of Aquarius would owe all of us 15 minutes of fame. But now it's 15 minutes of congratulations.
Maybe we're a society addicted to self-esteem strokes and, when they are late or unenthusiastically delivered, the anguish starts to bubble up. In the league of life, we now expect everyone to get a shiny first-place trophy.
This quest for fulfillment is a deity-bestowed right. Maybe protected in the 18th Amendment to the Constitution? I'm not positive on that one. Better look it up. Or we can just fight about it.