Two Brief Political Thoughts
1. I can only imagine the outrage that would have happened had some prominent Democrat made comments about George W. Bush when he was president along the lines of the comments made by Ted Nugent about President Obama. Double standard much?
2. There is something to be said for the old-fashioned principle that politics should stop at the water's edge. The Secret Service scandal is an embarrassment to the United States of America, not to the Democratic Party. It would be nice if Republicans would reflect on this point before falling all over themselves to gloat. Not surprisingly, Sarah Palin seems to be one of the worst offenders here.
To clarify a point about the Secret Service scandal, I would not even care if this were just a matter of some average young American tourists visiting a brothel and carousing with some prostitutes. Prostitution is legal in Colombia, and for that matter, should be legal in the United States as well. But the problem is that these weren't just a few average young guys. Not only were they representing the United States in an official capacity, but these agents also have very high security clearances. That means we should be able to trust them completely with sensitive information and sensitive duties.
To make matters even worse, there is a rumor that one of these agents had their government laptop at the brothel. In a job which requires keeping a low profile and conducting oneself with the highest levels of professionalism, these agents instead made a spectacle of themselves. And as common as "honey traps" are in the intelligence business, they also took an unacceptable risk with the national security of this country and with the security of the President.
2. There is something to be said for the old-fashioned principle that politics should stop at the water's edge. The Secret Service scandal is an embarrassment to the United States of America, not to the Democratic Party. It would be nice if Republicans would reflect on this point before falling all over themselves to gloat. Not surprisingly, Sarah Palin seems to be one of the worst offenders here.
To clarify a point about the Secret Service scandal, I would not even care if this were just a matter of some average young American tourists visiting a brothel and carousing with some prostitutes. Prostitution is legal in Colombia, and for that matter, should be legal in the United States as well. But the problem is that these weren't just a few average young guys. Not only were they representing the United States in an official capacity, but these agents also have very high security clearances. That means we should be able to trust them completely with sensitive information and sensitive duties.
To make matters even worse, there is a rumor that one of these agents had their government laptop at the brothel. In a job which requires keeping a low profile and conducting oneself with the highest levels of professionalism, these agents instead made a spectacle of themselves. And as common as "honey traps" are in the intelligence business, they also took an unacceptable risk with the national security of this country and with the security of the President.