Pimping for the Public

BO and John McCain have both been all over the "public service" bandwagon of late. The charade just makes me cringe. I particularly like Nick Gillespie's summation:

As the father of two young sons, I find fewer things more galling, nauseating, and mildly nightmare-inducing than politicians hectoring or cajoling ordinary American citizens to listen to the grand call of "national service," to serve a cause greater than one's self. As Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain has put it, "The richest men and women possess nothing of real value if their lives have no greater object than themselves." Which often (though certainly not always) means suiting up to fight a stupid elective war or, far less gruesome but still frustrating, putting an upper-middle-class career on ice for a coupla-three years while punching the clock at a public-sector sinecure of dubious policy effectiveness.

Seriously. And McCain's military tenure aside, the mere notion that spending a career in government, be it in Springfield or D.C., is some form of selfless service for the little man is pure garbage. Being a senator is not serving the public and the men and women that seek the post do so to stroke their respective ego's and aggrandize their own power and prestige. It's not "public service," its public office and the motivation for seeking the same is self-promotion. To be sure, whenever Mr. McCain begins a sentence with mention of his "self-sacrifice" and "service" to the people of Arizona, you can be certain that he's looking to push the Johnny Mac agenda all over you and me.

Whole thing here.