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Reno's dramatic announcement that she will seek yet another government
position, this time the governorship of Florida, has been greeted
with scorn and ridicule. As many interested parties have pointed
out, this is the woman responsible for the mass roasting at Waco,
the betrayal of Elián, and is also guilty of failing to fully
investigate the Clinton administration's gangbanging of the rule
of law.
Besides that,
she is hardly a compelling personal or political presence; she would
be a definite mercy vote. The possibility that reasonably sane people,
such as those who populate Florida, would vote her into power is
treated as an outrage.
In an ideal
world, such complaints would carry great weight, for it is certainly
true that JR is unfit to be first mate on a garbage scow. She embraced
the child-abuse hysteria while in an earlier government job in Florida,
and tried to justify her assault on the Koresh cult as an exercise
in child protection. In a Cabinet notable for grifters and slugs,
she was the designated flycatcher. She gave Bill and pass. She gave
Al a pass. It was all enough to make you believe the woman was on
the take.
But the ideal
world, as the preachers remind us, has yet to materialize. In this
one, Janet Reno is very much in her element. The political sphere,
after all, is full of slugs, drones, helots, valets, throne-sniffers,
time-servers, coat carriers, snitches, accusers, hysterics and other
practitioners of the mediocrity ethic. So, of course, are other
areas of life, yet in the political sector these are seen as redeeming
qualities.
This is hardly
a debatable point, and it is not the result of coincidence. Those
who work their way up the political ladder often spend decades in
public jobs most notable for their demand that those who fill them
behave like perfect cogs. Soul- and initiative-killing restrictions
must be followed to the letter. The inner child is ground to dust,
mixed with tar, and used to fill potholes. Countless millions have
perished this way.
This is not
conjecture. During a stint in our federal workforce, I was amazed
at the grinding nature of even the simplest tasks. A press release,
for instance, had to be read by eight or ten different offices,
no matter how crushingly mundane the subject matter. The changes
demanded were often so pathetic one was forced to feel sympathy
with those who demanded them: The puniness of their plight was restated
in every emendation.
Those who somehow
rise to the top of this slagheap easily become bullies. Arrogance
coupled with mediocrity is a mendacious combination, as Janet so
deftly reminded us, and this combination also happens to animate
many contenders for public office.
While JR may
have a terrible record as attorney general, no stage presence, and
little else to recommend her, she will probably give Jeb Bush all
he can handle (if she gets the nod, which seems quite likely). She
will have her party behind her. And, despite what her opponents
want to believe, many of JR's most notable debacles enjoy wide support
among Floridians, including the Elián heist and the Koresh
disaster. She is also from an administration that was popular in
Florida.
Besides that,
her advisers and shills may have some luck painting Jeb as a fat
target. He is part of a political family that, unlike the Kennedys
on the Democratic side, has placed not one but two members in the
presidency. Americans remain suspicious of heirs and legacy hires,
especially when they see that there is nothing particularly special
about the individuals. It will no doubt be pointed out, with some
effect, that without family connections Jeb's brother might have
managed a Wal-Mart or a small chain of feed stores, but nothing
more. The same brush can tar poor Jeb.
More to the
point, many Dems believe Jeb's brother stole the presidency, probably
with Jeb's assistance. Revenge is a major motivator in politics,
and for all their mediocrity politicians do excel at slicing each
other up, which is one of their true redeeming qualities. While
this "blood sport" is often decried by the responsible
pundits and pollsters, the fact is that voters want not only bread
and circuses but also sniping, bickering, moaning, and the occasional
criminal charge.
This race should
be very entertaining. To be sure, Janet Reno served in a cankerous
administration and would, in that ideal world, now be swatting flies
at some remote penal colony. But as the prophet said of the fabled
boil on the rump: It might not be pretty but it is very much at
home.
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