James Carville On Loyalty
As I was reading the sad news that several seal hunters were killed today due to bad weather, my first thougth was of the wives of those men who died. I have a hunch they never wanted their husbands to be out there on the ice killing those babies in the first place. But I don’t know. Condolences to the families…. all the families that suffered the loss of a loved one.
As I prepare my bags for a trip to Paris tomorrow for business and a little study, I did a quick log on to see what they’ve been saying about Hunter’s good friend Jame’s Carville after he compared Benedict Richardson Arnold to Judas. They’ve been bashing Hillary since day one, but wondered what was up with James after a day of it. Nice post James! The following is one of the many reasons Hunter admired his buddy James:
Fully aware of this supercharged environment in which the slightest slight is elevated to the most egregious insult, I waded in — okay, dove in — by demonstrating what constitutes a real insult.
I believe that loyalty is a cardinal virtue. Nowhere in the world is loyalty so little revered and tittle-tattle so greatly venerated as in Washington. I was a little-known political consultant until Bill Clinton made me. When he came upon hard times, I felt it my duty — whatever my personal misgivings — to stick by him. At the very least, I would have stayed silent. And maybe that’s my problem with what Bill Richardson did. Silence on his part would have spoken loudly enough.
Most of the stuff I’ve ever said is pretty insignificant and by in large has been said off the cuff and without much thought to the potential consequences. That was not the case in this instance. Bill Richardson’s response was that the Clinton people felt they were entitled to the presidency. In my mind, that is a debatable hypothesis. But, even more than that, I know that a former president of the United States who appointed someone to two Senate-confirmed positions is entitled to have his phone calls returned.
If Richardson was going to turn on the Clintons the way he did, I see no problem in saying what I said. Because if loyalty is one virtue, another is straight talk. And if Democrats can’t handle that, they’re going to have a hard time handling a Republican nominee who is seeking the presidency with that as his slogan.
–James Carville, Hunter’s good friend in the Washington Post today
Remember, one of the lessons Hunter taught us is that We Is The Most Important Word In Politics.
Until next time, your friend in Geneva,
Anita Thompson
