Not Me

"Who broke the wine glass in the kitchen sink?"
"Not me."
"Who left the toilet seat up?"
"Not me."
"Who's responsible for the mess the economy is in?"
"Not me."

Are you like me and have tuned out the noise about the election? Fingers point everywhere but at the speaker's own chest. It's always someone else's fault. I will grow old waiting for a politician to take responsibility.

Who's fault is the economy? Everyone's, with no small help from many different administrations. Government overspends. And spends on the wrong thing too many times.

TARP, set up by Bush II, had to be administered by Obama. Some of it worked; some of it didn't. I don't hear a calm voice looking at each million dollars spent, reporting back to the voters where it went, how much we were paid back, etc. I hear one candidate saying "he did everything wrong." I hear another saying "not me."

If we hadn't bailed out GM and Chrysler, how many jobs would have been lost? One candidate says the managed bankruptcy should have been supported through private equity, but I don't think a Bain Capital would have been willing to write a check. The managed bankruptcy was bailed out by the taxpayers. One candidate, who didn't like the bailout, now takes responsibility. "I always said GM should go into bankruptcy and I was right." Sorta.

The list is endless. I grow depressed thinking about it.

Do you have children? Were you a child once? Do you remember when your mother realized for the first time that you were growing up? Do you? What was the turning point?

For my mother and me, it was the first time I said, "I broke it" rather than "it got broke.

Isn't it time for our government officials to take the high road and grow up?

Try as I might, I can't like him any more

No, this is not a political post, although it could have been. It's a sports post. I try, I really try, but I no longer like Tiger Woods. When he first shook up the golf world, I thought we had a real role model for golfers of all ages. And he was for the longest time. Then, his personal and physical problems got in the way of being a role model and playing great golf.

Too many have already commented on the lies Tiger led. I don't want to repeat them here. I hoped he would come out of those problems, rehab his lower body and get his head back in the game. He hasn't.

He played really well just before the Masters. He won his first tournament in ages. And when his game left him in Augusta, he became a role model of the wrong kind. He cursed. He slammed his clubs into the ground. He threw at least one club. I was embarrassed by his behavior.

He didn't make the cut this week. Same crappy behavior. If he were a kid, he'd be in a time-out for violating the rules of golf, one of which is to behave with decorum.

I thought a lot about Tiger's career. It's hard to remember when he played with joy like so many of the younger players do today. He doesn't look like he's having fun. He walks the courses like a robot, growling and glowering, looking for the game he had a dozen years ago. He won't find it in the rough. He can only find it between his ears. He sure isn't looking there.

I really try to like him. I can't. I wonder what Pops would think if he watched his son play today. I'm glad he's not green-side any longer. He'd be in tears.