How informed do your elected officials have to be?

Have you ever noticed when someone runs for an elective office, they get asked so many questions and they are supposed to know everything? They are supposed to, all of a sudden, be the expert.

Why does a person running for office feel he or she has to be the smartest person in the room? What makes them so intelligent that they are not allowed to say, "I don't know?" What is wrong with saying, "Let me research an answer to your question and get back to you."

What are you going to do about the recession? The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq? The unemployment problem? Gays in the Military? Immigration? Climate change? Abortion? Prolife or Prochoice? Energy? Nuclear? Coal Plants? Offshore drilling? The Asian carp? The deficit?

To me, if you have answers to everything, you probably shouldn't be a public servant. If I am the smartest person in the room, the room is more than likely filled with not very smart people. We should know how to find smarter people.
I recently attended a political forum and the questions asked of the people running for office were amazing. Rather than ask how they were going to win the election; how they were going to beat their opponent; how they were going to defeat an incumbent. The audience wanted to know their positions on a number of irrelevant subjects as if they were running to replace God. They were the party nominee so it wasn't a case of issues or party platform.

Politicians need to have the mettle to say "I don't know" or "I haven't completely formed my opinion on that issue" or "I haven't investigated that issue yet." I would be more likely to listen to a politician give me an honest answer than a line of BS that goes on and on without answering the question. Why do we feel they should have all of the answers?

I watched Barbara Walters interview Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown on This Week a while ago and she asked him if he would support a certain issue and he said, No." He didn't go on, he just said, "No." No long dissertation on why he said no. No explanation, she was asked a pointed question and the answer was no. No dancing or evading the question, just "No."

Can you ever imagine President Obama answering a question with one word? Or for that matter any Senator or Congressman. They know everything, at least they think they do. They are the "Experts of ALL." They know more of what is right for you than you do. You are the idiot for thinking for yourself. Leave it to them because they are smarter than everyone else.

It is time to take back politics from professional politicians and let normal average citizens do the job. We probably can't screw it up as bad as it is right now. It is OK to not know everything, to not have a position on everything, to not be the smartest person in the room.

Remember that when you go to the polls in November.