...make stupid mistakes? Two recent events prompted today's post. Over the new year we learned that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had been out of commission for a number of days due to a medical condition. His second-in-command was notified and put in charge for the duration of the event. Regardless, and to most peoples' astonishment, the President and others in the National Security apparatus were not informed of this. Let us be clear, we understand Secretary Austin is a private person and is entitled to his privacy especially in a medical matter. What we all should question, however, is the propriety of how this was handled. Secretary Austin has since recovered physically, returned to work at the Pentagon and has made a public apology and acknowledgement of the way he (mis)handled the situation. He has also apologized to the President who has said he continues to have confidence in him. The matter is unlikely to end there as House Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers, R-AL, has said he wants to call Austin to testify before his committee. Whatever happens at the official level, the rest of us are justifiably baffled at a lapse like this. The "what if" scenarios are playing out in our heads. After the story broke, the White House started a process which will no doubt end with the drafting of a formal policy for the future. Maybe Congress will enact legislation to formalize the issue. Let's face it, much as we all love to hate regulations, they are there for a reason. Wouldn't it be great if we could count on everyone to do the right and logical thing without being compelled by rules?
The second event involves Fani Willis, District Attorney of Fulton County, GA. Today Ms. Willis went public with her "personal relationship" with Attorney Nathan Wade whom she appointed, along with others, as special prosecutor. Ms. Willis defends her actions and denies any wrong-doing insisting there is no impact on her case against former president Trump and multiple co-defendants. Most people would have no problem separating an individual's personal from their professional life. And yet, as in the case of the Defense Secretary, most people would say "Really?!" You are prosecuting former President Trump for his actions vis-à-vis the 2020 election in Georgia and you jeopardize that case because of your poor judgement? Not to mention the large amounts of public money paid to those special prosecutors. Even if her actions pass legal muster they may not pass the sniff test with the public. Surely law schools teach their students about such matters.
The last thing I will say about these incidents is that although they would be equally abhorrent regardless of who was involved, it is truly regrettable that both involved people of color and both occurred so close to MLK Day. They certainly do not help the cause Dr. King championed and will surely reinforce the biases of the bigots among us. While Dr. King, like all of us, was less than perfect, I wonder what he would have said about these incidents. More important, what will be the impact of such incidents on public opinion before an election which is expected to be so close and whose outcome is so important? I can only hope that enough voters will make the distinction between individual lapses of judgement on the one hand and willful and systematic malfeasance on the other.