Pot and Kettle

There were many things said (and more than just a few inferred) during the televised debate between Joe Biden and Paul Ryan. It was obvious that there is little love lost between the two men, and far too many words were said for me to analyze the debate here.

Before going any further, let me say this: regardless of how I feel about any of the political parties and/or their candidates, there have been enough zingers and more than enough twisting of facts from ALL of them for me to be actively trying to avoid watching the news these days.

But there was that one moment during the debate where I just could. not. believe. what I had just seen and heard (and yes, where I was thoroughly annoyed by what was said). 

Both men were obviously trying desperately to get in just one more statement to counter each other as the moderator tried her best to rein them in long enough to move on to the next question, long after the alloted time for the particular subject they were chewing to pieces had expired, when Joe Biden made a negative statement about the effects the Republican platform would have on the average American. 

Paul Ryan's response was to shake his head, give the camera a smile, and say something to the effect, "there you go, that's what politicians do, they say things to scare people into voting for them."

Umm... excuse me a moment, Mister Ryan. You are an elected member of the U.S. House of Representatives. You are Chairman of the House Budget Committee. Before becoming an elected government official yourself, you worked as an aide to several other legislators. At the moment, you are the Republican party's official candidate for the office of Vice President of the United States of America.

You, sir, are also... dare I say it?  A POLITICIAN.  Yes, you are. Really. You are a RepRep. You are a Congresscritter. You are A Washington Insider. You are one of Those Guys Who Legislate Things.

So please stop insulting the intelligence of those who intend to vote for you, those who intend to vote against you, and those who have yet to decide how they will cast their votes. YOU are a POLITICIAN too, Mister Ryan, and no amount of theatrics will ever hide that fact.

Pot, meet kettle. Kettle, allow me to introduce pot.

Now stop being so damn annoying and -- all of you guys from all the parties! -- just tell us, honestly and openly, what you intend to do if elected and cut all the, "Oh, he's a politician, so he's slimy, but I'm not, so vote for me" crap.

<sigh>
Now, if you'll all excuse me, I have to surf on over to the Factcheck website and see if they can help me dissect all the verbiage that was flung across the airwaves Thursday evening. (And I encourage everyone else to do the same.)