‘Bums’ need to work together

What is it about politicians that invites widespread public perception of their being collectively as crooked as a dog’s hind leg?

Let’s start with their public behavior, and their absolute refusal to operate in bipartisan fashion. And it gets worse from there.

President Barack Obama may have truly believed he could get Democrats, Republicans and everyone in between to the table, and in civil fashion, once he assumed office. But of course, that hasn’t happened. U.S. politics is as polarized as it ever has been.

A study recently released by the Pew Research Center indicates that while Obama is wildly popular with Democrats and independents (as he is overseas), he’s still roundly distrusted by Republicans. Overall the numbers balance out, because whatever else one might say about the president, it’s certain that he has “hit the ground running.” Still, the partisan divide remains troubling to those who, like the infamous Rodney King, would ask if we can’t all “just get along.”

From a layman’s point of view, getting things accomplished would seem almost a no-brainer. We might say that Democrats, now that they hold a majority again, must reach across the aisle to comprise. (This they say they are doing.) And the layman might similarly advise the disgruntled Republicans to “get over it.” For at least four years, Obama’s in the White House, and like it or not, they have to deal with him. Like it or not, that’s what the majority of Americans want them to do.

Now, more than ever, elected officials need to listen to the folks who put them in office. They should pay attention to what we, the people, want, rather than what party bosses – or worse yet, extremist media pundits – want them to do. It’s our country, not theirs.

The public doesn’t like it, but the question now is, who will get the blame? We won’t know until at least 2010 – the next opportunity to “throw the bums out.”

You can be sure if the public doesn’t deem sufficient progress has been made in getting this country back on the right economic track, a good number of those “bums” will be looking for work in two years. They may learn there aren’t so many jobs to be had.