Thursday, 19 June 2008

• Dan Boren: "I'm just misunderstood"

  Cue the worlds tiniest violin for Rep. Dan Boren of Oklahoma's 2nd Congressional District. He seems to be confusing the concept of doing his job with pandering to the Little Dixie Democrats scattered across most of his district. I guess he was just eager to reaffirm that sometimes it's better to just keep your mouth shut rather than try to talk out both sides of it. As reported by Tim Talley at the AP:
  
  

  Democratic Rep. Dan Boren of Oklahoma said Tuesday Barack Obama is "the most liberal senator" in Congress and he has no intention of endorsing him for the White House.

  However, Boren will vote for Obama at the Democratic National Convention in Denver in August and will vote Democratic on Nov. 4.

  Umm...okay. So he's saying that, as a delegate, he has to vote for him at the convention but, gosh darn it, he isn't going to enjoy it? Fine, I can work with that. I see how, from a career POV, it could be worrisome that Clinton carried his district with 66 % of the vote. But I'm a bit baffled by the interview with the AP; Boren himself admits that "his endorsement became a moot point when Clinton suspended her campaign, making Obama the presumed nominee." This pretty much renders the interview useless, as it seems painfully clear that Boren's far less worried about who will be president and far more worried about whether Little Dixie will see fit to re-elect him.

  But wait! People actually read the rather confusing (and, I repeat, useless) story and came away rather confused about exactly what Boren will be doing this August and next November. I can practically see the wheels turning as one side of the brain says "what does voting as a delgate have to do with endorsement" while the other side says "but surely it must be real news if it's from the AP!" This leaves Boren with the crappy task of having to explain that his "earlier statements...about the presidential race have been misunderstood." But did he learn his lesson about double speak? Of course not:
  

  "I thought I was emphasizing I may not agree with Senator Obama on some issues. I want to make it clear I will vote for our designated nominee at the Democratic Convention and in November," the representative said.

  ...Despite not endorsing Obama, Boren said the presumed Democratic nominee “clearly wants to help middle income people like those in my district struggling to make ends meet.”

  All of this completely understandable confusion lead to Boren being '"disappointed" in some news reports about his position." Wait just a second so I can pull out my hankerchief and weep for his disappointment. Silly me. Of course politicians should (to use a favorite GOP phrase) "flip-flop" around on hot-button issues and standard election procedures alike; it's up to the media, and his constituents, to figure out which side of the mouth to listen to.

  *sarcasm voice has now been disabled*
  

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