Older Men (and Women) Trying Not to Be Angry

[BridgeTheGap]

The bloggers, hardly the politest bunch, were calling the gathering of former and present officials on Monday at the University of Oklahoma the “Ben-Gay forum” — a nostalgia trip for oldies trying to creak their way back into electoral relevance.

Some of the more radical or wishful thinkers of the political crowd saw the session as something different: the possible beginning of a third party and another brick in the independent presidential bid by Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York.

Actually, it was neither.

It was more what David Boren, former senator from Oklahoma and now president of the university, called it: a gathering of 17 “outstanding public servants” who wanted to talk about more than Mr. Bloomberg’s supposed White House aspirations or a third party.

Call it idealism or a yearning for the past, but the participants wanted to talk about more than their legacies. They wanted to warn that “America is in danger” and urge the politicians of today to fulfill their basic obligations to the country, not the party or some sliver of an interest group or the lobbyist who forks over the most lucre.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/08/opinion/08tue4.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

[emanymton]

1. Idealism Is What It Is All About! Why Else Would We Geezers ...

.
put up with all the failings of the system?
.

[NoFederales]

2. Boren was my Government Professor when he was also in State

politics. He certainly brought the fundamentals, ideals, and realities of government to the classroom.

The "old guard" certainly need to speak en masse, but will their message get attention?

NoFederales