Why do politicians get in so much trouble often over silly things but get away with lying through their teeth about really important stuff – - apparently, because they think they can engage in whatever behavior suits them because power is its own reward.

The thing about recent incidents and those that regaled us in the past is how political enemies use them – - the larger the target, the more venomous the attacks. To be sure President Clinton’s behavior was wanton and careless, but did his peccadilloes make him a less able executive? Did the sleazy anecdotes Kenneth Starr produced add up to an impeachable offense or did he enter a perfect political storm embraced by an opposition hoping to bring down a presidency? In the end the whole exercise wasted precious time and kept leaders from addressing issues of greater significance.

POST CONTINUES AT BUZZFLASH.COM FOR TUESDAY, MARCH 9TH

There’s something peculiar about the way national issues are framed these days. In some cases it’s how questions are posed; at other times it’s the choice of material the opposition chooses to brandish in its barrage of talking points – - “Obamacare” instead of ‘health-care.’ Perhaps Democrats should have pushed the phrase, “Bushwar” in the past.

Even respectable news outlets tend to ask questions in judgmental mode about the president’s policies. One can’t help but wonder if there’s an underlying thread – - that special oversight is required because gee did you notice he’s black. There was plenty of criticism directed at George Bush as a speech garbling, information-light president, but rarely were voters asked to evaluate his every move. Economists may have expressed concerns about war costs and an unfunded prescription drug plan, but questions about his competence were muted by phony patriotic blather about our “war-time” leader.

POST CONTINUES ON FRIDAY, MARCH 5TH’S BUZZFLASH.COM

It never seems to fail. Just when you think common sense and rational discourse are about to break out, the demon forces of empty rhetoric and intellectual dishonesty rise up to claim everyone’s attention. The president said as much at the Health Care Summit last week when, after some quite reasonable discussion, Minority Leader Boehner reiterated Republicans’ favorite talking points – - deriding the size of the current health-care bill, making the bogus assertion that the Democrats’ plan represents a government takeover of health care, and that it should be scrapped and a new bi-partisan venture be undertaken.

In Republican-speak bi-partisan usually means something completely divergent from the president’s agenda which has already been diluted in a vain attempt to extract some degree of participation from the minority. Even the more reasonable members of the Republican delegation reverted to type as soon as they left Blair House, repeating ad nauseum the same stultifying points that so mislead and misinform the public. For if one begins from the premise, as articulated by conservative hero Ronald Reagan, that “government isn’t the solution, it’s the problem”, it’s a long uphill climb to arrive at a consensus for finding solutions to the country’s problems.

Post continues at Buzzflash.com for Tuesday, March 2nd 2010