Osler's Razor

I've now read a bunch of pieces about Gerald Ford, and one thing that was remarkable was how well he worked with Democrats. In fact, he became VP (after years as House Minority Leader) primarily because of Democrat support after John Connally was rejected for the job.

Part of what has been reflected on is that this was a different age-- that there were genuine friendships across the aisle, and at times when Ford was a House leader the focus really was on creating a better government rather than partisan advantage. This made Ford a good antidote to Nixon, perhaps.

If there is one thing I would change about our political culture, it is that so many people view politics as kind of like being a rabid Jets fan-- you paint your face and go to the game and yell insults at the other team, then congratulate the other Jets fans on how great you all are. There's no depth to it, and no desire to make anything better, just to get partisan advantage. The nastiness and pettiness of this debate seems to have infected the culture as a whole, sadly, and if I read one more snide piece from a columnist or blogger (of either stripe) about how stupid/immoral/evil the other side is, I think I'll hurl. Their only principle seems to be that their side is always right.

We now have a government which is the product of this discourse, and perhaps we have only ourselves to blame.