Electability; D. G. Smith

One need not dwell upon the fact that Hayes could not be elected today. It is such an obvious reality that there is no need to elaborate. Keeping Hayes in mind, however, we can deal with the pop ular notion that an officeholder has to do some thing; and to be elected he has to promise to do something. This is how we interpret leadership. The "leader" we seek is a vigorous crusader who has a program, who wants to get the country, state, city, or precinct "moving" and exhorts us all to march with him/her into some nebulous brighter day where the sun alwaysshines and we all feast on milk and honey. Unfortunately this leaves us with a most per plexing paradox, which is the constant uncompromising battle between politics and eco nomics. We live with an economic system that Mr. Smith, a frequent contributor to The Freeman, lives in Santa Maria, California. works best when left alone. It is a self-generating, energy-producing system that resists tampering and brings instant rewards when it is allowed to run free. In a socialistic system politics and eco nomics are part of the same package and it is expected that every economic decision will be political as well. In the capitalistic system, the two are distant relatives, and the more distant they are, the better the economy works.

Yet a politician is expected to do something and this invariably means injecting himself into the system. Whether it be a Federal program to force employers to provide medical insurance or a local ordinance forbidding smoking in restau rants, the politician has to meddle in order to cre ate and/or maintain the image of vigor and far sightedness that is so essential to election. In order to be elected, a politician has to offer a program, which is a course of action that will in some way impede the system and make it harder for both employers and employees to do their jobs. This is why we have hiring quotas, rent con trols, seat belt laws, environmental impact reports, and restrictions on the sale of private property. It is why we have "Warning" labels on everything from cigarettes to suntan lotion and why, in some states, alcoholic beverages can only be served to people who are seated.

We live constantly with a conflict between poli tics and economics. The office seeker who might have the good sense to leave the system alone can not say this to the electorate because he won't be perceived as a man with a program. There is no 390 391 Rutherford B. Hayes glamor, no pizzazz, in a campaign that is based upon administering the laws of the city, state, or federal government as efficientlyas possibleand lettingthe economicsystemrun itself.Thisis obvi ously someone without a vision, someone who doesn't care, someone who might just run things with maximum efficiency and then quietly bow out. Who wants to put up with that kind of non sense? So we will continue, forever it seems,with the paradoxinvolvingelectabilityand reality;whatwe are going to get and what we need. We will once morego to the pollsand electa smallarmyofmed dlers who want to "get thingsmoving,"when it is they,and otherslikethem,who are the veryreason that "things" aren't movingnow. It is like pouring gasolineon a fire. Withthe capitalisticsystem,one does not "get it moving";rather,one backsoffand letsit move becausethisis whatit wantsto do any way. It doesn't need a programand it doesn't need an egomaniacwitha manicureand a $20 haircutto set it in motion.Allthat it asksis someonewiththe good sense to leave it alone and let it do what it does best.

Unfortunately there is no market for simple, unadorned competencein publiclife.Thisis why a latter day Rutherford B. Hayescouldnot be elect ed today,and why the originalis all but forgotten. In today's political scene, ability is a hard sell at best, which leaves us with a paradox. The people whomwe put in officeto protect the economicsys tem are those who will inflictthe most damageon it. I justdon't understandit. I don't thinkthat Pres ident Hayeswouldhave either. D Redlight for Greenways by Jo Ann Frobouck I n the wake of a new environmental aware ness, Americans are having a love affair with greenways-those long, skinny parks along roads, rivers, and trails, through urban and rural areas, which connect other park areas to form a continuous system with protected status and oftentimes, public access. Greenways are generally perceived as a benign attempt to make the world a better, greener place.