Where have all the political giants gone?

All of my life, it seems, there have been giants of the political stage to look to and admire. More often than not, to be sure, they each showed their feet of clay at some time.
For the current crop those feet seem to extend to their ears.
I was born into a world of remarkable, firebrand pollies in Australia. The notorious ‘Doc’ Evatt, who on the plus side, moved heaven and earth to see his dream of the United Nations Organisation come into being.
The giant figure of Robert Gordon Menzies dominated the Australian stage during my childhood. His gray conservatism was challenged by a new American president in the early 60s.
The Vietnam War spawned an array of giant figures, on the Australian scene again, one Edward Gough Whitlam. Throughout the years there were many either in power or simply powerful, to give some impression of leadership.
Even the ‘less than upright’ showed qualities which made politics compelling to many of us.

Watching today’s lot is like watching a top football series plagued with second rate players. These thoughts were spurred by a headline in Newsday: A 'brain' drain if Rove goes, by Ellis Henican.
For a start, if Rove is credited with having brains, that leaves Bush looking dumber than he actually seems. The actual article was more circumspect on mental powers, referring ‘to the crafty mind and nimble arm twists’ of Karl Rove
The point is, it doesn’t take brains or intelligence to exert enormous power, simply guile and numbers. Current methodology is more often related to bully tactics than intelligent strategy.

The fundamental shift in politics, in part, has much to do with the ‘robber baron’ mentality which now dominates our institutions of power. The delegate authority to govern for the common good has been hijacked for the acquisition of personal wealth.
The political culture of individual selfishness and self-absorption, Margaret Thatcher’s "There is no society there are only individuals" is empty of the ‘duty of care demanded of those in power.
When our lawmakers, and by extension their advisors, believe it right to break the law to achieve their ends we are in real trouble.
Worse is the way errant political troops are simply cut adrift when corruption is exposed in high places; sacrificed on the alter of the false gods of politics.
There was a convention in western politics famously encapsulated in Truman’s ‘The buck stops here!”
The convention was based on the fact that responsibility in politics devolved to the top.
Under the Westminster System of Government, and to a degree the US model,

“even without knowledge of an infraction by subordinates the minister [secretary] approved the hiring and continued employment of those civil servant.
If misdeeds are found to have occurred in a ministry the minister is expected to resign. It is also possible for a minister to face criminal charges for malfeasance under their watch.”

It makes sense in systems where civil servants and non elected officials have no real voice with which to defend themselves. But more to the point, the individual given the delegated authority, on our behalf, was expected to take full responsibility for those under that charge.
We have allowed our elected leaders to slowly but surely escape that responsibility. We have allowed them to get away with as much as possible, until such times they can no longer simply pass the blame on to underlings.

Deflecting and diminishing
The indictment of ‘Scooter” Liddy is a case in point. Robert Parry in Consortiumnews.com makes the point:

“One of the common myths of official Washington is that most political scandals result from overly aggressive aides operating out of control – the Watergate “third-rate burglary” or Iran-Contra’s “men of zeal” – with top officials getting in trouble only later by trying to cover the mess up.
But the reality – which is relevant again amid the probe into the outing of a CIA officer – is that a principal official is almost always lurking somewhere in the background of the original crime, sending signals or pulling strings with the expectation that, if caught, a subordinate will take the fall.”

Then there are the degrees of corruption, according to said Joe Lieber, a political analyst at Washington Analysis:

“If it's just Scooter Libby that gets indicted, it's a minor scandal. If Karl Rove gets indicted, that will be a little more damaging.”

No, it is not simply a minor scandal; it is a corruption symptomatic of political leadership around the world.
The US media, at least the Washington arm, has, to a great extent, tried to hide from this particular affair. S
ure it is complex, but it is also vitally important. Not enough it seems for any media organisation to put any real resources into the coverage.
In fact, the main role of the media has been to deflect rather than demand answers.

All in all, this latest imbroglio highlights the moral corruption we the voters, the media and our representatives, have allowed to develop.
Unless we all demand better it will surely get worse.
The implications of this ‘scandal’ are far reaching, well beyond the borders of the USA and well beyond mere cynical use of power. Over 2000 US servicemen are dead as a result of a war justified by the lies uncovered in this saga.
The US and other allies’ populations have been cowered by fearsome predictions of terrorist retaliation. Retaliation for actions taken on the basis of lies.
President Bush and vice president Cheney, if they had an honour and calling, would take responsibility for this mess. Instead of perpetuating this age of second rate political figures, they should resign.