Why is it that in one area of our lives we can be brutally honest with ourselves and others, yet deny reality in another part?

 

For example, now that the college football season is over you see any number of coaches fired for their inability to produce winners for their alma mater. The bottom line is the bottom line. How many games won against expectations? If results are below expectations, then it's time to give someone else a try. It's nothing personal. It's just business and big time sports is a business. What's more its a business where folks can read the balance sheet.

 

I don't follow college football, I follow the pros. My team is bad this year. I have no problem admitting that and I know why they're bad. Does that mean I am any less loyal to my team or not want them to win? No, but I do expect that the team will own up to its shortcomings and try to correct them.

 

Now contrast that to an experience I had Friday. I went to a local luncheon where the speaker was a well known Republican politician who had considered running for the US Senate in 2008. After the formal proceedings I was standing with a small group of people talking to the politician. One person was asking the politician about that person's perception of the failings of the Bush Administration. To my amazement, the politician demonstrated a complete denial of the criticisms by offering an alternate reality.

That politician is not alone. Chris Matthews had on one of his shows recently that 70% of Republicans in Iowa think that President Bush is doing a good job. This will relate directly to something I hope to post this week as guidance for voters. Meanwhile, I think the following article by Joe Galloway pretty well refutes both Friday's politician and the Republicans polled in Iowa.

Read it and see if you don't agree.

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/11/23/5399/