Politicians Who Really Want the Best for the World?

I'll name you a few, and then go on to suggest the problems intrinsic to your question (which is a good one).

They guy who meets your criteria is Caspar ("Cas") Taylor, formerlry Speaker of the House for the Maryland House of Delegates. Cas is out of government now, but during his time he was one of the most highly respected men in Maryland government. He lived in Cumberland, MD, near the western end of the state, and an economically distressed area. That a guy from THERE would be elected Speaker was unheard of; that role typically went to delegates from the big counties or Baltimore. The fact that he was elected as Speaker is testimony to the high regard his fellow delegates had for him.

If ever there was a man who COULD have abused his power, it was one in the Speaker's chair -one of the three or four most powerrul people in the state. But not Cas. His office in Cumberland was on the second floor of the restaurant and liquor store he owned. And old wooden desk and folding chairs and tables was his furniture. His many citations and awards, signed by a lot of famous folks, were in piles and stacks on the floor -he never found the time to put them up. He later moved to a somewhat more attractive office suite, but it was quite modest as compared to what a local insurance agent might have. And the awards and citations just sat in boxes. On the walls were pictures of the local geography and some family members.

His home was the same way: a modest frame dwelling in a modest part of town. Clean, but not pretentious.

Cas worked tirelessly to get new industry into western Maryland; when Kelly Springfield was ready to close up shop, he arranged for their corporate headquarters to stay (even if the old factory had to close). He was also the single person most responsible for broad-band public internet access in Allegany County. Problem was that Verizon did not want to invest in the infrastructure to make it available at any reasonable cost; so those who did have broadband paid thousands every month for it, to get a leased line to an access point down state. I was able to show Cas how we could have broadband for everyone by building a county-owned wireless system, and operating from existing towers in the area. The total cost, at nearly 3 million, was too much for the county to afford, but if the State could pony up a few bucks, we'd be good to go. The State budget was tight as well, and our request was made after the budget had been finalized. Nonetheless, he got it done, and the system is in operation today: a truly world-class network. (www.allconet.org)

What was interesting about "allconet" was that the resistance to it came from the very folks who refused to build the infrastructure originally: Verizon! They realized that Allconet was a threat to the market they would one day have -so nthey didn't want anyone else to have it now. As large contributors to Cas's campaign chest, they pressured him not to support it. It didn't work -he DID support it.

Cas understood that having broadband was in the same category of having decent highways, water and sewer, rail oines and everything else comapnies need to be attracted to an area. Allegany County frequently was the #2 choice of a company -on the strength of a good labor market, low crime, a surprisingly good medical system, good education system and just a beatiful place to live- but the cost of inter-connecting to corporate locations elsewhere was way too high. Now -that problem was solved.

Likewise, he "got it" about the highway system, and found a friend in Don Shaffer who understood it as well. For years, western Maryland was host to the last unfinished segment of the Interstate system -what is now I-68 to be exact. As a step-child of the state, no money was being advanced for the state's share of the cost, and so, an old 2 and 3 lane road (US 40 & 44) was the only way in and out. Then Don Shaffer was elected governor -and the man had an incredible grasp of regional economies. What Don understood was that the Port of Baltimore was losing business to Newport News, Norfolk, Hampton-Roads and Portsmouth, VA, because those ports were at the mouth of the Chesapake Bay, and therefore much closer to inbound ocean freight than Baltimore was -another 160 miles up the channel. And, if Baltimore was losing tax revenue, employment and economic activity from port operations, the whole state was losing. On the other hand, once freight DID get to Baltimore, it was much closer to target inland destinations such as Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, St. Louis, etc. Cas, too, knew that the Baltimore choke point was hurting western Maryland economically. And so, they got support to finish the interstate. Crews and equipment worked day 24/7 for several years to do it. Today, it is noted for the largest cut through a mountain east of the Mississippi,which you can see here (Sideling Hill cut):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sideling_Hill

So now, the travel time to the interior is FASTER if ships go to Baltimore and overall transportation costs are competitive with the Virginia ports. And yes, it has resulted in more industry moving in to Allegany County. Cas understood it. The opposition was landowners, environmentalists and others who were against change -and they put up quite a fuss.

And so, with Cas I'll add Don Shaffer as a poltician who gets high marks. Now let's move on to J. Glenn Beall, Jr., a former US Senator, now deceased, and one of the 50-60 most powerful people in the world. Glenn ran an insurance business in western MD and was elected to the Senate in 1970. He shared many of Cas Taylor's attributes, although he was a Republican and Cas is a democrat. His life style was a bit more sumptuous, but not at all excessive. I'll leave it to you to research Spiro Agnew's peccadillos while Nixon's VP, but suffice it to say that Spiro had ethical issues -and all this as poor Dick was getting ready to get hit with Watergate. Spiro, realizing that he was in a heap of trouble, sought out Glenn as his confessor. After a tearful private meeting, Glenn's advice was simple and direct: "Spiro, you've got to tell the truth -all of it." And so he did. Later, after Watergate, Glenn himself became the target of an investigation by the Baltimore Sun. The poor Sun, outdone by the Post on Watergate, started responding to rumors that Glenn was using his high office to steer government and school board business to his insurance agency. No question about it, the agency wrote the lion's share of that business (in western Maryland) but insisted it was due to expertise, service and good pricing; Glenn's influence had nothing to do with it. It was, after all, public bid business and the competing agency bids were a matter of record. Even so, the Sun dispatched a young reporter to investigate. The agency opened its files, showed them the policies, showed them the bid specifications, correspondence -everything except personal material and spent days answering questions. After the interview was complete, the reporter said he now understood what was going on, and then published a damning story that appeared on the front page of the Sun. Totally false. Inasmuch as Glenn was busy in DC, his partner wrote a "letter to the editor," of the Sun, but not the kind intended for publication. Rather, it insisted on a retraction and threatened a a lawsuit if it was not forthcoming. The management invesitgated. Result: reporter fired, and the Sun printed the retraction -ON THE FRONT PAGE. First time ever for a front page retraction, and hasn't happened since. You won't find this story on the internet, but you will get verification if you call an old timer at the Sun. I know this because when I have done so. What had really been going on in the agency? Contrary to hogging up all then public business, they were buying "agency reinsurance" from the competing agents who lost the bids -THAT way, EVERYONE got a piece of the action -and the action stayed local. This gives you a measure of the man's character, but there is more. After Glenn was out of office, he was still called upon to visit foreign countries, assist in trade deals and otherwise engage other governments where the US representative had to have IMPECCABLE moral and intellectual credentials. A surviving testament to Glenn's work is the Amtrac train station at BWI airport near Baltimore. Here, passengers hop off the train and ride a free shuttle to the airport, a best use of intermodal transportation. His idea. Also, look around you: see any historic commercial buildings that have been nicely restored. They are that way because the business gets a tax benefit for refurbishing historic structures in accordance with certain standards: Glenn was the author of the bill. Waste of money? Hardly -it is a way to fund such renovation that local government cannot do on its own, and WITHOUT creating a bureaucracy to do so.

Little if any of this can be verified on the internet, but you may believe that I seem to have direct personal knowledge. That's because I do. I personally know or knew everyone I've discussed here.

Now, your question, I think, pertains to high profile politicians and those running for President, mainly. The difficulty for these folks is that they are, by nature, magnets for issues which are either actually very critical (shall we go to war) or are emotionally laden (stem cell). I rather think that the vast majority of politicians really do want a better world, but they have two problems at a foundation level. First of all, their ideas of what makes a better world, or how to "get to" a better world, differ vastly from their opponents ideas, or from the ideas of significant portions of the public and the media who follow them. I for one, don't want the government spending so much on welfare, Id rather they boost the economy. So, there are philisophical differences. Second of all, the politicians -as such -must find a way to satisfy as many of their important supporters and allies as they can, if they hope to be elected. And that means having to adopt some positions to which they may be personally opposed. It is all a constant process of compromise -and with moving targets, at that. And this is fertile ground for opponents and the media to find and publish evidence from a politician's past (near or distant) or else their utterances that paints them as hypocrits. In poijt of fact it does take connection with big money and sometimes unsavory influential folks to get things done. For those in the cross hairs of public attention, it is almost a guarantee that they will be regarded as caring more for some special interest, or themselves, then they do for the electorate. And there's truth to it: in order to have any influence, you've got to get elected FIRST.

The 2 party system itself is a problem; other countries elect officials based on a series of run-off elections; candidates who really ARE held in highest esteem by the public get elected more often that way, and studfies show that if the US did it that way, John McCain -not GW Bush would have been elected.

Finally, there are a few who really are in it just because it is in their blood. Ed Mason asked me to set up a breakfast meeting one day with local business folks, so he could chat with them about his candidacy. This I did, and Ed presented himself to the hundred or so who gathered to hear him out and express their view. When the meeting ame to a close, Ed said something like this: "And finally, the most important reason I want your vote is that I just love this job and being in politics."

He lost.

Any politician that cares more about 'the world' than his own country probably wouldn't be elected. Self interest may not sell bumper stickers, but it's the only way to make sure your nation (and it's people) get the kind of representation they need. I think we in America would be far better off if we stopped worrying so much about the world and worried more about what we need to accomplish to ensure our continued success and prosperity.

George W. Bush. Given the opportunity to do his job without all this " Bush Bashing " just might show allot of ' believe anybody ' people that is is doing a good job. God Bless America!

Dennis Kucinich (D - Ohio)

He actually wants a better world for average Americans (and future Americans)

He has not been purchased by Corporate America, therefore he gets bad press or no press.

If only the media treated our President in the same way that they treat Kucinich.

I could be proven wrong, but I sincerely believe that Mike Gravel really cares about what is right for the people of the world and of this country! I also believe that he listens to the people, and I believe that if he was proven to be wrong about something, he would admit it, and make the necessary adjustments. I sincerely believe that he is the man we need in the White house, now! *sm*

Republicans

Please check out Dennis Kucinich.

You can find videos of him speaking on youtube.

He has a web site.

Look at both sides. He is advocating really huge changes. I think most people are afraid of change. They doubt their own capabilities to rise and conquer. I think Americans have become too comfortable in many ways. That needs to change. I think everyone needs to contribute. Get rid of the lazies that are slowing down our country.

I'm afraid they don't exist anymore. But then again, we should ask- did they ever exist?