Ron Smith and the drive home 30 December, 2006

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon shopping in Annapolis with my father and brother. After Christmas - we are good Protestants, of course - is a time conducive to spending money. As the day progressed, and the early evening of December began, my father decided to just wait in the car outside stores while my brother and I finished wasting holiday cash.

When we got back in the car, my father was on his car phone (he, to this day, refuses to buy, use or believe in cell phones) with a local radio station. He was on air with the Ron Smith show - talking with the host about celebrity New Year’s resolutions. They were mostly jokes and political commentary. My father’s suggestion was for Phil Mickelson (a famous golfer - obvi).
For inquiring minds, the joke went as follows:

“Phil Mickelson’s resolution should be to watch basketball.
That way, he’ll know the layup is always a possibility.”

(The punchline references the fact that Mickelson lost a tournament by trying to hit the ball too far - when he could have hit it purposely short of the hole, then moved in and hit it again. Trying to go all the way - too soon - is sometimes not worth… losing.)

The conversation between Ron Smith and my father then moved to the newly elected Comptroller of Maryland. As my brother and I tried to load our bags in the car quietly, this is the subject matter I heard discussed.

Peter Franchot, who is to be the new Comptroller of the state of Maryland, ran a surprisingly successful campaign against incumbent Comptroller and political legend, William Donald Schaefer. Promising to fight for - among other things - health care for all Maryland residents, he won the Democratic nomination in the primary. This upset is remarkable, especially given his challenger. What is also remarkable is the apparent delusion that a Comptroller, as a financial officer, has any power beyond monetary moderating power and tax oversight. (Health care?) Unless Franchot has ambitions beyond his new office, he will certainly not be directly involved in such policy-related decisions.

“But Jameson”, I hear you cry, “what has this to do with me, my life and reality - which exist outside the state of Maryland?” Well, my dolce disciple, I think it illustrates two things - which show something rather common among politicians and voters of any state and country. Politicians promise things far outside their ability or office - making their “campaigning” uninformative and misleading. Likewise, people are generally unaware of what, exactly, the powers are for the different offices they elect officials to. This imbalance in voter understanding and political pledging leads to problems - I hope no one would argue with that. However, it is a problem that, on a basic level, is addressable. If people learn the actual roles of government positions, or demand a politician match their ambitions with the actual roles of their potential offices, government would arguably function more efficiently; and, that is something that would benefit everybody.

Also, I wanted to provide another personal update on this blog and write one last posting before New Years - so there you have it. I hope every person reading this has a marvelous annual turnover. Mine, of course, will be dolce.