Charles Barkley said it best when he said that he was not a role model and that parents need to take responsibility for their kids’ upbringing. I think we can now officially say the same thing about
Lets start with sportsmanship. We all want our kids to be good sports, right ? The transcript of any speech from any Presidential or VP candidate is ripe with what any sports fan would call “bulletin board material”. From “lipstick on a pig”, to denigrating the value of community service, to every level of attack on personal issues. Where is the sportsmanship ? We wouldn’t put up with these kind of attacks on an election for 6Th grade class president, yet this is the example our candidates are setting.
The long list of examples fall on both sides of the aisle.
Do well in school ? Nope, you can finish in the bottom 1pct of your class. John McCain did.
Don’t do drugs ? Nope, our last 2 Presidents have, Obama, check. Sarah Palin, check.
Don’t spend more money than you have ? The increase in Government spending and the deficit says it all.
Don’t lie ? Watch any commercial from either party. Read any transcript. They all walk a very fine line between outright lying and “massaging” the truth.
And the role model issue doesn’t just apply to kids. It applies to parents as well. Can any parent across the country feel bad about their own family after getting a glimpse at the Republican Candidates ?
Pregnant, unmarried child who is not yet 18, check.
Sister who is divorcing a man who has been married 4 times, check
Shotgun Wedding, check
Adultery, check
Its straight out of an episode of My Name is Earl. Could this election be any more crazy when the Democratic candidates are better role models for family values than the Republicans ?
I’m not trying to call out any of the candidates on this. They are all human, with the same level of problems and vices that we all have. The point is that we live under a new reality. There are no more role models. People no longer live their lives trying to be bulletproof to media scrutiny. Personally, I don’t think that is bad at all. Maybe it’s time we finally admit that Presidents specifically, and politicians unilaterally are not role models, and stick to the issues and their ability to lead.
I don’t care if our President or VP has smoked pot. I don’t care if they weren’t a good student. I do care about how well they can do their job.