Curses and profanities

Cal Thomas - Jewish World Review: "Democrats were quick to pounce. Some noted this is an administration that is trying to muzzle shock jock Howard Stern from using the same language that Cheney employed. Others bemoaned the loss of "civility" in Washington, which they date from the day Newt Gingrich arrived in Congress in 1978 and Republicans began to behave as if they did not have to be forever content with their minority status.

In a week of morally conflicting messages, former President Bill Clinton began hawking a $35 book for which he received an advance of about $10 million and in which he speaks about the extramarital affairs he had with two of his many women - Monica Lewinsky and Gennifer Flowers.

Then we learn that Illinois Republican Senate candidate Jack Ryan is withdrawing from the race after a previously sealed divorce court file was released. In it, Ryan's ex-wife (actress Jeri Ryan) accused him of taking her to sex clubs and demanding they have sex while others watched. He denied it.

While I do not endorse the use of crude language in public places (such as the Washington Post, which printed Cheney's remark unedited), we would all be better served if we knew what politicians really think. Who believes that "my good friend" baloney congresspersons always say to each other? Criticism doesn't have to be crude or a barnyard epithet. It can be creative, such as this remark by Harold Ickes Sr. about Gen. Douglas MacArthur: "MacArthur is the type of man who thinks that when he gets to heaven, God will step down from the great white throne and bow him into His vacated seat." The irascible columnist H.L. Mencken once said of Franklin D. Roosevelt, "If he became convinced tomorrow that coming out for cannibalism would get him the votes he surely needs, he would begin fattening a missionary in the White House backyard come Wednesday."

John Adams called Thomas Jefferson "a slur upon the moral government of the world" and Gen. George McClellan said Abraham Lincoln was "nothing more than a well-meaning baboon."

A little more candor in politics could have an additional benefit. It might improve voter turnout because more people would believe politicians are expressing their true feelings and not saying things generated by pollsters and focus groups."