"... the politics of regret? There is no such thing. But what if there was?"

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Essence of political success
By John Skipper, August 31, 2014

I couldn't believe what I heard.

But there it was, on National Public Radio, for all who were listening to hear.

Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the Republican who ran for vice president in 2012, said he made a lot of speeches in the last campaign in which he talked about a world of "makers and takers."

To his way of thinking, makers were those who worked hard and contributed to society and enjoyed their just rewards.

Takers were those who lived off the government -- welfare recipients and the like -- who received a lot while contributing very little.

Ryan said that was the message he preached until recently when he came across a constituent who challenged him. The man was a disabled veteran unable to work. He pointed out the condescending way in which Ryan referred to takers and asked him, "Am I a taker?"

Ryan said after that, he began rethinking what he had been saying for years and that it wasn't really the best way of looking at things.

And then he said it. The corker I heard him say it.

"I made a mistake," said Ryan.

Forget for the moment that he is a career politician, that he has just written a book and that he is considering running for president. Forget about party labels.

What struck me was that a politician admitted publicly that he made a mistake. And I was trying to think if, in my lifetime, I had ever before heard a politician admit publicly he made a mistake.

In America, we live in a society that is filled with the politics of denial, the politics of the oblivious, the politics of avoidance, the politics of "I'm not sorry I did it -- I'm sorry I got caught."

Former Mason City Mayor and Councilman Roger Bang used to talk about the "politics of resentment" he experienced in his 20 years in city government.

And I have seen at the local, state and national levels "the politics of dissention" -- the mentality of divide and conquer rather than negotiate and unite and move forward.

But the politics of regret? There is no such thing. But what if there was?

Think for a moment: What would have happened -- how might history have been changed -- if President Richard Nixon early on had told the American people he made stupid mistakes in the handling of the Watergate break-in and its aftermath and asked for the public's understanding?

What would have happened if President Bill Clinton had admitted to the affair that everyone knew he had and asked the country to forgive him so we could move on?

The response of the American people might have been, "It's just politics, that's all." And they have good reason to think that way.

But it might have worked the other way. Either of those instances could have been the start of a revival of sorts led by our top national leaders with the support of the American people.

People make mistakes. The public recognizes that. It only asks that those responsible own up to them. What a concept.

Americans are an immensely forgiving people when given the opportunity.

That opportunity can only come in situations where there are truly repentant politicians. And therein lies the hitch.

Oh, well.
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