Teabaggery
So, amidst all these knobs threatening to secede from the union, and tossing boxes of teabags around, there's a quote that I think is worth sharing, from The West Wing - a show so smart I can't believe it lasted so long on American television.MODERATOR
Governor Ritchie, many economists have stated that the tax cut, which is centerpiece of your economic agenda, could actually harm the economy. Is now really the time to cut taxes?
RITCHIE
You bet it is. We need to cut taxes for one reason-- the American people know how to spend their money better than the federal government does.
MODERATOR
Mr. President, your rebuttal.
BARTLET
There it is. That's the ten-word answer my staff's been looking for for two weeks. There it is. Ten-word answers can kill you in political campaigns. They're the tip of the sword. Here's my question: what are the next ten words of your answer? Your taxes are too high? So are mine. Give me the next ten words. How are we going to do it? Give me ten after that, I'll drop out of the race right now. Every once in a while... every once in a while, there's a day with an absolute right and an absolute wrong, but those days almost always include body counts. Other than that, there aren't very many un-nuanced moments in leading a country that's way too big for ten words. I'm the President of the United States, not the President of the people who agree with me. And by the way, if the left has a problem with that, they should vote for somebody else.
ETA: For those who haven't seen it, here's the start of the debate - and another great line, maybe a minute from the end of the clip.
ETA2: They also have the finale, which I quoted.
Governor Ritchie, many economists have stated that the tax cut, which is centerpiece of your economic agenda, could actually harm the economy. Is now really the time to cut taxes?
RITCHIE
You bet it is. We need to cut taxes for one reason-- the American people know how to spend their money better than the federal government does.
MODERATOR
Mr. President, your rebuttal.
BARTLET
There it is. That's the ten-word answer my staff's been looking for for two weeks. There it is. Ten-word answers can kill you in political campaigns. They're the tip of the sword. Here's my question: what are the next ten words of your answer? Your taxes are too high? So are mine. Give me the next ten words. How are we going to do it? Give me ten after that, I'll drop out of the race right now. Every once in a while... every once in a while, there's a day with an absolute right and an absolute wrong, but those days almost always include body counts. Other than that, there aren't very many un-nuanced moments in leading a country that's way too big for ten words. I'm the President of the United States, not the President of the people who agree with me. And by the way, if the left has a problem with that, they should vote for somebody else.
ETA: For those who haven't seen it, here's the start of the debate - and another great line, maybe a minute from the end of the clip.
ETA2: They also have the finale, which I quoted.