Gluing Shattered Mirrors

George Nethercutt's latest commentary in The Inlander is about an issue he should be familiar with--trust. (Just three terms...eh...changed my mind.)

When there's a breach of trust, there's a reluctance to interrelate. It separates us, and it's what ails the relationship between the President and Congress. Lack of trust has also created a divide between voter and leader. America desperately needs trusted leaders.

It's interesting that although Mr Nethercutt bemoans the lack of trust in our political leaders, he doesn't get into any detail until he talks about possible presidential candidates Chris Christie, Jeb Bush, and Hillary Clinton. Christie for his bridge fiasco. Bush for his brother, the former president whose "Bush plan" Nethercutt so strongly supported (see link above), and Clinton for her fund raising capability and Benghazi.

Though the press often focuses on a candidate's untrustworthiness, the public is usually good at separating fact from fiction and knowing the difference between wise leaders and those who self-serve.

Really? Did not the usually-good-at-separating-fact-from-fiction public elect the not-so-wise and self-serving leaders we have today? And what are we to think about Mr Nethercutt presenting the fact-and-fiction of Jeb Bush being untrustworthy simply because of his brother's economic record? How does Hillary Clinton's fund raising ability make her any less trustworthy of...say... Cathy McMorris Rodgers, for example, whose recent ethics investigation concerns which pot(s) of money were used to pay for a packet that, among other things, touted her fund raising for other Republican candidates. And can we trust someone who yet again brings up Benghazi?

Trust is the product of a leader's integrity, commitment and actions to help others. To paraphrase Lady Gaga: Trust is like a mirror. Once it's cracked, the reflection is never again the same.

Nice paraphrase, but I like the quote better. And when you look back at George Nethercutt's earlier commentaries in The Inlander, you'll find cracks spiderwebbing all over his mirror.