David McElroy

If you really want to be successful in politics — in a big way — you need to first sell your soul to the devil. Or, at the very least, you have to shred your ethics and learn to lie. Without that foundation, you’ll never make it far.

Some people believe I’m being cynical or maybe just kidding when I say such things, but I’m not. I’m dead serious. If you’re really going to tell the truth and keep your promises and be consistent with what you’ve said before, you’re in big trouble, because you’ll be living in a world where pretty much everybody else is willing to change stories or ethics or principles as they have incentive to do so.

I could pick on almost any major politician, but the story that brings this to mind right now is something going on with Barack Obama’s administration.

When Obama came to power, he made a lot of noises about having the most ethical administration ever. Blah, blah, blah. That’s all I hear when politicians start saying such things. Pretty much every president comes to power making similar noises, because he’s been “cluck, clucking” at the other side for their infractions on his way to office. Once they’re in power, though, their administration does the same things the other ones have done.

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When’s the last time a first-term president lost re-nomination by his own party? I can’t think of a time it’s ever happened, but some people are starting to suggest that Barack Obama is so unpopular that Hillary Clinton has a shot at the Democratic nomination for next year. Are they crazy or could there be something to this?

It’s far too early in the process for me to make predictions about who’s going to win, so I’m not ready to come down hard on either side of the discussion. But the fact that I’m seeing it mentioned so frequently is a strong indication of Obama’s possible electoral weakness right now.

When it was just Dick Cheney suggesting that Clinton run against Obama, you could write it off as a Republican eager to sabotage an incumbent Democratic president. You could also say that James Carville was just living up to his “ragin’ Cajun” image when he wrote blunt advice to Obama about what he had to do to survive.

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The taxpayers of New Jersey just shelled out close to half a million dollars to MTV to go toward the production of “Jersey Shore.” Aren’t you proud that your taxes support the fine arts?

Why is the state in the business of funding a TV program? It’s all in the name of economic development, of course. Here’s how the show’s summary reads on the application to the state Economic Development Authority:

“The film is about eight roommates. There is no screenplay. The roommates live in a house and are asked to work in a local establishment on the New Jersey Coast. The cameras capture the interaction among the roommates and how the roommates interact at work and at play in Seaside Heights.”

I don’t watch TV anymore, but something tells me that the description is a bit tamer than what’s really going on. I’m just guessing, though.

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