You know, every group has it's icons. More so, every group has their idiots. Pat Robertson may be both, I'm not sure. Pat has done a lot of good, I'll admit. His charity organization is probably one of the most efficient in the world. Yet he seems to have the worst case of "foot in mouth" disease I've heard. Whether you agree with some of his stuff, you do NOT go on national television and suggest the things he's been saying. It makes him sound hearless and cruel. And what's worse, is it drags the rest of us into it. How many non-christian, centrist to left do you think the Christian conservative movement alienated by having a person who a majority do not agree with make us look hateful and cruel? Again, I'm not saying Pat is necessarily a bad guy, I just think he's done the Christian right a lot of damage recently.
Okay, let's switch groups, consider Mrs. Kerry during the last election (yes, I forgot her first name). In one interview she managed to earn herself a gag from stupid statements. Coming from some sort of fairy world, she managed to incense stay-at-home mothers, insult Laura Bush (while mixing up her facts), and basically alienate a whole group of voters. May the thought that this person would have the gag removed post-election have pushed centrists to Bush?
My point is there may be people with very good and honorable intentions who, frankly, are horrid when it comes to opening their mouth in national forums. These are places where the slightest misspeak is exaggerated and grossly misconstrued to mean things even greater than normal considerations. Now take someone who makes statements that are already pushing it in a normal, benefit-of-the-doubt conversations, and you've got the recipe for a PR nightmare. And the opposite side is just waiting to sink their teeth into it.
My point? I don't know, do I have to have one? I guess my point is that if you want to be in a public forum, think about what you say, because you will have to eat your words.
*Title inspired by Max Powers, character of PvP (see side bar)
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