To the candidates: Act like leaders

I think it was former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka who snapped “Act like you’ve done this before” to players who danced in the end zone and acted goofy when they scored a touchdown. I always thought that was a good line.

Let your demeanor show class and command respect.

That’s good advice for the presidential candidates. This has gone on for a long time, over a year now, since the day after the mid-term election last November. Many politicians arguing with each other and attacking other politicians. Both parties. It’s the way they ‘do’ politics these days. The examples and incidents are too numerous. We’re weary of it, and expect better.

I’m scanning the headlines briefly just to check in with the news of the weekend, and see this New York Times headline: “Romney’s Words Testify to Threat from Huckabee“. First thought I have is….what? Governor Huckabee has threatened Governor Romney?! That doesn’t sound likely, so I read the story.

If there was any doubt that Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign was concerned about the threat posed to them by Mike Huckabee in Iowa, Mr. Romney’s latest campaign swing through the state erased that.

Oh, that threat. As in…..Mr. Huckabee’s increasing popularity in Iowa is cutting into Mr. Romney’s base, and threatens his lead there.

Mr. Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, made sure to make a target of Mr. Huckabee on this visit at every opportunity when asked about immigration, attacking him for the measure on in-state tuition for illegal immigrants.

Look at the language, the behavior of presidential candidates. One “made sure to make a target” of another one, “attacking him” on one issue or another. They spend much time and publicity telling us why we should not vote for the other guy, but not so much about whey they, themselves, would make a great leader. Here’s what one Romney spokesman said about voting for anyone but Romney:

“I believe a vote for any other candidate in the Iowa caucuses is a vote for Rudy Giuliani,” Mr. Bopp said. “This is the only man that can stop him from getting the nomination.”

And Rudy Giuliani continually reminds people that a reason to vote for him in the primaries is that he’s the only one who can stop Hillary Clinton from winning the general election. This is not inspiring.

And it’s not only happening in the Republican party. The Democrats are at least as negative. Even when the issue is who can best unite the party.

It says something about modern politics that Sen. Barack Obama has faced some of his sharpest attacks over the charge that he’s too conciliatory.

Liberal activists who consider Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton suspiciously centrist complain that Obama hasn’t “taken off the gloves” against her in the Democratic presidential race. From another angle, former Sen. John Edwards ridicules Obama’s pledge to reduce the influence of insurance and drug companies but still provide them a voice in negotiations on health care reform.

Why the ridicule? Where is the eloquence, the respectfulness, the nobility of character in political leadership? A lot of it passed away with the Honorable Henry Hyde.