Poise under pressure is what separates the common folk such as you and I from occupying positions of power and leadership. A case in point would be the recent actions of a certain congressman involved in an accident in Washington D.C.
Around 2:45 A.M. fresh from an alleged round of bar hopping, the congressman was seen to be driving erratically, without his lights on, and narrowly missing crashing into a capitol police cruiser before smashing into a barrier.
Apparently smelling of alcohol, blurry eyed and and unsteady on his feet, the congressman had the presence of mind to stagger out of his car and announce to the police that he was on his "way to a vote".
The votes had concluded about six hours earlier. When reading this I foolishly ridiculed the congressman for his obviously foggy thinking. He must have been loaded to have forgotten that congressional business usually is not done at 3 in the morning.
Now this is what separates you and I from deep thinkers like this congressman. Apparently there is a law that prevents our congressional leaders from being arrested when they are on their way to cast a vote.
With the recent announcement of his decision to re-enter drug rehab we now find that it was not just alcohol but a combination of the prescription drug Phenergan and sleeping medication Ambien that was responsible for this event. It certainly wasn't the congressman's fault. Some of you might say he was just lucky that he had the presence of mind to pull out a get of of jail free card at that moment in his drug an alcohol induced stupor.
This line of thinking can be easily refuted by simply taking a close look at not only the congressman's history but that of other close family members. Major and minor scrapes, one after another have always been met with this type of critical thinking skills and resulting escapes from bearing any responsibility.
A case in point is the aftermath of this most recent episode. In order to mitigate outrage over the special treatment given the congressman and to avoid any personal responsibility, a sympathy spin was immediately placed on the whole affair. Commenting on his decision to enter rehab, the congressman offered the following;
"I simply do not remember getting out of bed, being pulled over by the police, or being cited for the driving infractions," he told reporters, his expression stoic but his voice wavering. "that's not how I want to live my life, and that's not how I want to represent the people of Rhode Island." Followed by "Of course in every recovery, each day has its ups and downs. But I have been strong, focused and productive in my term in office," he said. "Still, the incident on Wednesday evening concerns me greatly."
Some of us foolishly think this behavior is irresponsible, dangerous, and illegal. It is part of a long pattern of the congressman's life as a result of the public coddling of him and his entire family. Again, this type of thinking is why we are just regular folk and not the stuff that greatness is made of.
This is how the congressman's father sees things, ''All of us in the family admire his courage in speaking publicly about very personal issues and fully support his decision to seek treatment," the senator said. "The people of the First District of Rhode Island have a tireless champion for the issues they care about, and, today, I hope they join me in feeling pride and respect for a courageous man who has admitted to a problem and taken bold action to correct it."
Wow, I was misguided in thinking the guy was just a privileged brat who continually makes a fool of himself.
