Rogue politics

This just in from the Too Good to be True desk: a recent feud between California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and San Francisco assemblyman Tom Ammiano has culminated in a gubernatorial veto memo in which the first letter of each line spells what is perhaps the most common and direct obscene two word phrase, beginning with a certain four-letter word and ending with “you”.

Schwarzenegger’s office promptly stated that the “hidden message” is “a coincidence.” It is so compelling however (there are no extra lines or letters) that upon first glance it appears to be a hoax. The veto, issued on Oct. 12, reads as follows:

The PDF of that veto was taken from http://www.msnbcmedia.msn.com, but the story, broken by the San Francisco Chronicle, has been picked up by a slew of syndicated publications.

As for the feud portion of the veto, that growing theory comes since San Francisco assemblyman Ammiano recently pulled a Joe-“you lie, Obama!”-Wilson moment at a Democratic Party fundraiser in San Francisco. When Schwarzenegger made an unexpected appearance, Ammiano called out a number of rude remarks, including the much-discussed “kiss my gay ass.”

In remembering Wilson’s outburst and now realizing the possibility that Schwarzenegger has resorted to such foolish (albeit creative) and childish means of expressing frustration, it would seem that public decorum is all but extinct from our modern era of American political discourse.

It may be flogging a dead horse to mention the deterioration of cable news networks into pandering, sappy, embarrassingly lopsided propaganda machines (equally egregious on both sides) driven by self-obsessed pundits who shout, cry, spit, and call for revolution.
Still, when such pundits exhibit arguably more influence over everyday Americans’

conversation than politicians themselves, it must make it more tempting for representatives to express themselves in the same pointless and petty manner.
Obama has not been innocent of this.

While overall he has done a superb job of keeping cool, level-headed and avoiding the partisan blubbering, he has let undignified remarks slip.
His calling the police officer who arrested Dr. Gates “stupid” was the wrong word choice for the president, for instance.

It is not that he cannot have opinions, or even that I disagree, it is just that he needs to remain an adult voice in a political landscape of bickering children.

The same goes for Schwarzenegger, Ammiano, Wilson, and the rest.
There is a time and a place for everything.

Let’s keep our official forums just that: places where we can try to professionally deal with the very real problems that for many people who are suffering, poor, sick, and discriminated against, are no simple shouting match but rather serious daily issues.