Word: politicians
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...born in Ireland in 1943. Her father, a grass-roots politician, nurse and union activist, imbued her with a civic sense and a desire to be a nurse...
...political bait-and-switch last November. Minnesotans who voted for Ventura knew they were electing a controversial, outspoken man liable to say things that would annoy or offend large segments of the population. Indeed, for many this was precisely the reason to vote for Ventura: he was the anti-politician, speaking his mind without first taking a poll, pulling no punches. A vote for Ventura was a vote against politics-as-usual, as epitomized by Bill Clinton...
...other politicians are discovering, making outrageous public statements about organized religion isn't the only way to be an anti-politician. Republican presidential frontrunner George W. Bush's style of being the anti-Clinton is to say "fuck" a lot in front of reporters. The idea, apparently, is to jar us all by how little he cares about his image, in stark contrast to the relentlessly image-conscious Clinton. Bush also wants us to know that, unlike the legendarily wonkish president, he isn't a nerd. Has the number of abortions fallen during his governorship? "I don't know, probably...
Bush doesn't do that--his anti-politician pretensions are harmless. He scoffs at statistics, but no one really minds; he swears in public, but it doesn't really offend anyone. And it seems like he's doing it on purpose, trying to cultivate an anti-Clinton image...
Before this race is over, voters may well see through Bush's posturing. Even if they don't, there is a danger in running as an anti-politician. It only takes a couple of Jesse Venturas bashing organized religion to remind us why we've been electing those loathsome politicians to office all these years in the first place. And as columnist E.J. Dionne Jr. '73 wrote yesterday, Ventura's act is already wearing thin. By the time Ventura-style brashness no longer seems like such a smart political move, will it be too late for Bush to change gears...