John Foster
President Woodrow Wilson’s Vice President Thomas Marshall is credited with the statement, “What this country needs is a really good five-cent cigar.”
Marshall, who was also the 27th Indiana governor, served as the 28th vice-president of the nation.
Now, in today’s economy, that cigar might sent you back anywhere from $10 to $50.
Marshall’s statement was actually a figure of speech for “getting down to earth, buckling down to thrift and work.”
“Getting down to earth” doesn’t seem to be a thought that is really popular today any more than “buckling down to thrift and work.”
However, as recently as 1981, Kool and the Gang sang “Get Down on It” but that wasn’t quite the same as “getting down to earth.”
So maybe we need something other than a really good five-cent cigar to cure what ails us. However, Mark Twain is quoted as saying. “If heaven has no cigars, I shall not go there!”
In light of today’s political landscape, remember that Ulysses S. Grant stated, “Cheap cigars come in handy; they stifle the odor of cheap politicians.”
Today’s reality is the fact our politicians aren’t cheap.
Some say they’re the best that money can buy.
Ninety-six percent of the 535 members of the 118th Congress have college degrees.
The nationwide average for the rest of us is 35%.
Pay off those student loans you say?
Thirty percent of U.S. Representatives have law degrees; 51% of our senators do.
Only 23 members of the House have nothing beyond a high school diploma or a GED.
Is that a “true” House of Representatives?
The hue and cry from the masses is “term limits”.
With this current Congress, the average length of service in the House is 8.5 years, a little more than four two-year terms.
In the Senate, that figure is 11.2 years, just short of 2 full six-year terms.
Hmmm.
Fifty-seven percent of Americans know the party affiliation of their US Representative but only 37% can name them.
But the typical American will almost always blame the other guy’s politician and as the one who needs to go.
I believe “term limits” are for American voters who don’t want to be part of the process to see that good people get elected.
Don’t limit terms. Limit campaign funding and what can be spent on advertising and commercials. That might level the political field a bit.
Besides, I have a huge dislike for those negative ads from political action committees telling me what’s wrong with the other guy instead of what’s good with a candidate.
Maybe then, your candidate might win and you could light up a victory cigar. A really good five-cent cigar.
John Foster anchors “All-News-in-the-Morning” weekdays on 1010 WCSI-AM and 98.1 FM. You can read his weekly blog at johnnyonthespot1950.com and monthly in The Republic. Send comments to [email protected].
