EDMOND —
As I watched the recent presidential debate, a quote by Thomas Fuller, a 17th century English writer, came to mind. To paraphrase: “Plain speaking is a jewel, but they that wear it are out of fashion.” Things haven’t changed much in the past 400 years, have they? I suppose we might amend Fuller’s statement: Those who wear the jewel of plain speaking aren’t just out of fashion, they’re invisible.
Today, the virtue of plain speaking often gives way to the oily concept of plausible deniability. Most of the doubletalk, hyperbole and hogwash we hear is irritating but harmless. No matter how much hot air any candidate gives out, we know that actions speak louder than words. We’re better off making our choices based on the candidate’s record rather than the promises.
The election ordeal would simplify if plain speech went hand-in-hand with a history of accomplishment. But today we must recognize that “spin” is a distasteful fact of modern political life. Candidates running on sorry records can’t win unless the other guy’s record is sorrier or unless they manufacture some razzle-dazzle and make us believe this mess is a “silk purse.”
But there are situations where we must not tolerate verbal trickery. There are times when our public servants have two options and two options only: Tell us the truth or keep your mouth shut. There are times when the American people have the right to expect and demand plain speaking.
We know, of course, there are situations where it’s OK to withhold facts. We accept this. When someone is injured or killed, we know identities will be withheld until the family can be notified. We understand the good sense and decency of this policy. We know information is sometimes withheld because disclosure would compromise an investigation, national security or some other important interest. Fine. If we’re kept in the dark for good reasons, just tell us.
What we can’t abide — what we should never allow — is a maze of misdirection and word games when someone has a duty to tell us the plain truth. It’s better to tell us nothing than play tricky shell games.
So here’s what I’m leading up to. How hard is it to say: My fellow Americans, I know you have many questions about the circumstances surrounding the death of our ambassador in Libya. We are gathering information and, once we have a clearer picture of what happened, we will answer as many questions as we can. In the meantime, please be patient as we work to get to the bottom of this. Or this: It’s too early to be certain, but preliminary intelligence suggests the attack on our embassy and the death of our ambassador are products of a terrorist attack. We will provide more information as it becomes available and verifiable.
Instead, what we got was a thoroughly misleading series of party-line misdirections about spontaneous out-of-control spinoffs from demonstrations provoked by obscure video. The maddening thing about this is the fact it was known to be poppycock for the bulk of the time it was being handed out.
We might be inclined to put the blame on the president’s subordinates. Maybe the nameless “intelligence community” falsified reports. Maybe they sent confusing reports. Maybe some functionaries at the State Department distorted and falsified the facts for reasons of their own. Maybe the president was taken off guard with the rest of us when the truth came out.
But the president, during the most recent debate, suggested that he told us from the Rose Garden on the day after the attack that it was an act of terrorism. The debate moderator backed him up on this. If that’s what the president meant to say in the Rose Garden, it’s buried in the verbiage of his remarks. If he meant to inform us that the attack on our embassy and the death of our ambassador were the result of a terrorist attack, he left the American people to wonder and guess at his meaning.
If we give the president the benefit of the doubt; if he knew the day after the attack that it was an act of terrorism and if he intended to tell us that, what are we left with? The president is a poor communicator. The administration’s internal lines of communication are pathetic. And the administration’s ability to discern and correct gross errors is ridiculously slow.
We are reminded of Abraham Lincoln’s illustration: “If you call a tail a leg how many legs does a horse have? Four, because calling a tail a leg doesn’t make a leg.” I’m Hink and I’ll see ya.
MIKE HINKLE is an Edmond resident and retired attorney.
Opinion
President’s words far from plain
- Opinion
-
-
Last-minute funding proposals not in state’s best interest
All indications point to this being the last week of this year’s legislative session. The Legislature will go home a week early. This is good news for Oklahomans as not only will there be cost savings but all Oklahomans should breathe a sigh of relief when the Legislature stops making new laws a week ahead of schedule.
As usual, the Legislature will take a number of important votes during the last week. Some will be forced due to attempts to introduce and pass far-reaching, new policies that should have been introduced much earlier in the year. -
BY THE NUMBERS: Oklahoma still needs to invest in its economy
After six months of stagnation, the Oklahoma economy finally appears to be expanding again albeit still weakly. Unfortunately, our leaders aren’t making the investments we need to give our economic prospects a boost.
Last week the Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services reported that in April state General Revenue fund collections were 5.2 percent above the estimate and 14.7 percent higher than last year’s collections. Under normal circumstances, such a report would indicate that the Oklahoma economy was very strong. But this isn’t a normal circumstance, and April isn’t a normal month. -
Americans deserve the truth on Benghazi
Lately, the media has been consumed by the controversies surrounding the White House. Among these controversies is the horrific terrorist attack on the United States’ diplomatic compound in Benghazi that took place Sept. 11, 2012. As more people come forward with additional information regarding the attack on the consulate, many Americans, including myself, are still asking for the truth.
The Obama Administration and the State Department have been less than forthcoming with key information on Benghazi and recent information points toward a major cover-up. -
Seizure of AP phone records insult to independent press
Distrust of government secrecy has been elevated to an exceptional level with the disclosure the Justice Department covertly examined two months of Associated Press phone records to determine who leaked details to the AP about a foiled terrorist plot.
-
HEY HINK: Some people just are not cut out for command
Recent headlines cause me to remember an incident that occurred on an army base some years ago. Warning here: I’m taking some liberties with names and details, but the basic outline of events is accurate.
A certain company commander, let’s call him Captain Duntz, had command of a motor pool on a large army base in the continental U.S. -
We’ve become our own worst enemies
The past couple months have been marked by a seeming unprecedented number of man-made tragedies, as distinct from those caused by violent outbursts of the natural world, such as earthquakes, hurricanes and tsunamis.
You don’t want to dwell too long on the negative, but we do have to take notice of horrific human events and we owe it to ourselves to respond to them in some way. We don’t always agree on those responses, however, and that usually exacerbates the problem. -
Let’s reimburse higher ed for remediation costs
The good news: Oklahoma schools are teaching phonics. The bad news: It’s in college.
Students at Tulsa Community College, for example, can take a college English course called “Spelling and Phonics,” which “helps students master basic spelling literacy, principles of phonics and decoding skills.”
This sort of higher education brings to mind former Boston University president John Silber’s quip: “Higher than what?” -
AGAINST THE GRAIN: Department of Commerce highlights Main Street successes
The 24th annual Oklahoma Main Street Awards Banquet was at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum last week. Oklahoma Department of Commerce Secretary Dave Lopez addressed the gathering, and spoke of how the Commerce Department works with Main Street organizations throughout the state that are working to improve their downtown areas. Lopez pointed out that the partnership between his department and those local organizations has brought new life to those communities and that the attendees would see some of that revitalization in a video presentation. Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin also addressed the gathering, and said the Main Street program has resulted in more than $1 billion in investments in the state and more than 1 million volunteer hours in its 24 years of operation.
-
OUR VIEW: Be Edmond needs your help
BMX star and local legend Mat Hoffman knows what’s it like to fall from great heights and find yourself at one of the worst low points in life. He also knows how to climb back up and tackle life’s problems head on.
-
No Americans forgotten in Benghazi
More than eight months ago on Sept. 11, the nation was shaken by the attack on our consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Claiming the lives of four innocent Americans, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens, that horrific night still demands further investigation before it can be laid to rest. Due to an uncooperative administration and State Department who attempted to downplay the terrorist attack just eight weeks before the presidential election, we still don’t know the truth.
- More Opinion Headlines
-
Last-minute funding proposals not in state’s best interest
