Ah, Politics, Politics

Well, good for Obama.  By issuing his executive orders on a segment of immigration policy, he’s given at least a little relief to millions of people . . . for now . . . and that’s a good thing. 

Republicans will now go back into their rooms, refuse to do anything  for the next two years, and sulkily blame Obama for their inaction.  Not that anybody will notice , since that’s what they’ve been doing for the past six years.  Since this is a Congress unfit to govern, then perhaps not governing is a very good thing.

Now, the interesting thing to see will be whether the friends of all those millions of people this executive order is helping (and/or their friends)  will vote Republican in 2016 or stay home in sizeable enough numbers that will help get a Republican congress AND Republican president elected. That will be something to see.  Serpents teeth, ungrateful children and all that.

Meanwhile in upstate New York, residents there have been buried under tons of snow, it’s going to heat up Monday when they’re likely going to be buried under tons of water.  So, here’s the question:  Are they paying attention to the issue of Climate change now? Is the rest of the country?

Speaking of Politics

The sad drama that played out in Arroyo Grande has come to a quiet end . . . . for now.  The Tribune reports that the A.G. city council accepted city manager Steve Adams’s resignation offer and placed him on immediate administrative leave.  If you recall, he and Community Development Director Teresa McClish were found by the cops alone together at City Hall late at night, apparently both sobering up enough to drive home after attending a social event.

The incident blew up into a melee and prompted an expensive outside investigation, which concluded that there was no evidence that the two were engaged in an “inappropriate or romantic relationship,” but , most interestingly, did find that “a significant number of city employees who were interviewed perceived that there was ‘something more than just a casual or business manager-subordinate relationship between the two.’”

Which gets us back to the eternal heart of the dangers that lurk along the pathways of all who serve in the public eye:  Caesar’s Wife.

She, you remember, understood well that not only did she need to actually be above suspicion, she had to appear to be above suspicion. In the real world, that’s often a hard, but necessary task.

Arroyo Grande resident Will Power was reported as saying that this whole brouhaha and the way it was handled created “’a cheap, cynical attitude toward city government [that] has affected many residents,’ leading to a stampede of judgment, which resulted in an expensive, unnecessary investigation.”

“Newly elected members to city government should know that you will be presumed guilty until proven innocent,” he said.”

Good advice from Mr. Power, even though I think he meant it as a criticism of what he views as an unfair state of politics.  I, on the other hand, take that advice as totally sound, something that should be taken seriously.

If you’re an elected official or are serving in the public eye, you should be presumed guilty until you can prove yourself to be otherwise. Failure to take Caesar’s Wife to heart is something you do at your own peril.  Perception IS reality.  It’s all simply part of the job description, so stop wining and mind your P’s and Q’s.

Being in the public eye, being in politics has always been a hard, unpredictable game for big boys and girls.  So, time to don those grownup panties.