Sound Bites. Victor L. Cahn
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ago. The big difference now is the intense news cycle that runs twenty-four hours—”
“All day and night.”
“Twenty-four hours.”
“Nonstop, isn’t it?”
“So everybody’s words and emotions are a little more exposed, a little more out in the open, a little more vulnerable to public scrutiny. And one consequence is that those of us who are actually in office have to be perpetually aware—”
“Who are in the line of fire, so to speak.”
“Those of us in office have to be more careful about everything we do and everything we say—”
“I guess you’re on display all the time—”
“Twenty-four hours a day—”
“Seven days a week—”
“The job never really ends.”
“It’s a different world, isn’t it, from when you started?”
“It’s a different world, and it’s a different job—”
“Relentless—”
“Nonstop—”
“Twenty-four-seven.”
“The action never stops.”
“And you’re right there on the front lines.”
“Well put, Ben.”
“We’ll be back in two minutes.”
¶ ¶ ¶
“The Chair recognizes Congresswoman Cassie McClellan.”
“Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have only a few questions. Good afternoon, Mr. Bogash. And thank you for appearing before us today.”
“You’re welcome—”
“Now, sir, you’ve testified that the five school districts in question are desperately short of funds.”
“That’s right. They—”
“But do you really expect us to believe that the money which has been apportioned to you thus far has been spent wisely?”
“I certainly do.”
“Then explain something for me. Three years—”
“I’ll do my best.“
“Thank you. Three years ago the sum of $7 million was given to you by the federal government for the sole purpose of building a community swimming pool—”
“If I may—”
“Sir, that’s an awful lot of money. In fact, it’s more than would seem necessary for just about any swimming pool that I’ve ever heard of.”
“Well, it was going to be an indoor pool—”
“Even so—”
“—with a new kind of heating system—”
“Wonderful, but that pool was supposed to open thirteen months ago.”
“I’d like to explain—”
“Yet thus far not a single brick has been laid. In fact, progress has been essentially nil, has it not?”
“I wouldn’t go that far—”
“Do you have an explanation for your incompetence?”
“Well, there were a few technical problems—”
“There must have been a lot of technical problems.”
“—which arose because of construction codes—”
“And how about the $2 million you were given to update and improve your computer system?”
“Now wait a minute. That was completely installed—”
“But more than six months late.”
“Well, in that particular case—”
“And several weeks afterwards, the entire system had to be ripped out and replaced, at double the cost, because of faulty wiring. Isn’t that right?”
“Well . . .”
“Isn’t that right, sir?”
“I suppose so, but there was an unfortunate incident—”
“Apparently your district is beset by unfortunate incidents.”
“Well, this one occurred primarily because the company that we hired—”
“You also appear to have a great deal of trouble selecting people to complete jobs properly.”
“Not at all. We make every effort to hire new firms—”
“New and unproven firms.”
“Not necessarily—”
“You’re generosity is admirable, but may I suggest that you’re far too interested in achieving what you consider to be proper diversity through the unwise exercise of what is often called ‘affirmative action’ than in selecting businesses that have the know-how to spend wisely the vast sums of money that have been given to you by the federal government!”
“That is absolutely not true—”
“And now you’re seeking $3 million more to start a program in international studies at several high schools, with the intention of teaching our children about exotic cultures. Isn’t that right?”
“Congresswoman McClellan, in this shrinking world we have the responsibility to—”
“In this shrinking world, Mr. Bogash, throwing away tax dollars supplied by hard-working Americans so that you can achieve some pie-in-the-sky racial or ethnic balance is no solution to the daunting financial problems we face.”
“If I may—”
“Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’m finished with this witness.”
¶ ¶ ¶
“Senator Harrington, what, in your opinion, is the basic difference in philosophy between your party’s view of the world and that of the opposition?”
“That’s a deep question, Ben.”
“I try, sir—”
“But I think I can answer it this way. When our side sees someone in trouble . . . maybe they’ve lost their job, or maybe they need medical care, or maybe they just lack money to put food on the dinner table, we feel obligated to help. We feel a responsibility to try to relieve the suffering of others.”
“I see—”
“The other party, however, and I regret having to saying this, the other side experiences no such sentiments. Indeed, even if they see someone in profound pain, they manage all too well to ignore such pain.”
“Do you mean—”
“If they see a starving child, they can look away.”
“What about—”
“If they see a homeless veteran, they can walk right past him.”
“I’m not sure if—”
“They figure that as long as they have theirs, then everyone else is on their own.”
“But do you find—”
“Now I’m not saying that when we try to help, we’re always successful. Sometimes our efforts fall short.”
“For example, you voted to—”
“Sometimes we make mistakes, and sometimes the other side sabotages our programs. But at least