Make America smart again (al.com)
Another week has passed where we scratch our heads trying to figure out why the Trump campaign thought it was a good idea to tweet something offensive, stupid, and crass. We've also been puzzled by former President Bill Clinton's moronic decision to meet with U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch on a tarmac. Regardless of what they discussed, it looked awful and it was an amateurish mistake.
As we look back on all the many juvenile gaffes and the multitude of unforced errors by candidates on both sides of the aisle, we have to wonder what ever happened to statesmanship. We also have to examine why so many people think that it's acceptable for presidential candidates or legislators to resort to name-calling and school-yard personal attacks as a way to show the electorate their "toughness".
Arguably, Democratic frontrunner, Hillary Clinton, has exhibited far more statesmanship than her vulgar and bombastic counter-part, Donald Trump, but she has also made big mistakes from the beginning in terms of how she has handled the whole mess regarding her email controversy.
In politics, perception is often a much more potent force than reality. A politician that exhibits statesmanship understands this intuitively and acts in a manner whereby public perception and reality exist in alignment. It's not about media spin, it's not about appealing to voters' base instincts; it is a genuine and demonstrated desire to serve the public interest with integrity, wisdom, and ethical decision making.
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more: http://www.al.com/opinion/index.ssf/2016/07/make_america_smart_again.html
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