Just Another Politician?

Really, Congressman Clarke? You're playing the race card? Really? This is truly a disappointment. We had a high opinion of you. We could never vote for you, but you had always seemed so sincere. We remember you going door to door in your first campaign for a seat in the Michigan Legislature: so excited, so emphatic, so believable. You didn't sound like a politician. You sounded like a man of conviction. And now you don't. Where is the breath of fresh air which you brought to politics? Where is the young man who breathed it? To be sure, we know nothing of robocalls and we do not care to know. Perhaps you are being slighted, and shame on those who do it. But where is the man who would rise above that and present himself as worthy of support? Where is the earnest American who we at least felt had what he thought the best interests of his community in his heart? Where has he gone? The youngster, whoever he was, who said so long ago, 'Say it ain't so, Joe', is now asking, 'Say it ain't so, Hansen.' Will you say that? Can you say that? Why not go to the debate in Southfield this afternoon and present yourself as Hansen Clarke, genuine and forthright. Maybe the fates have dealt you a cruel blow; you aren't the first to suffer such. But you can be one of the ones who rise above it. You are capable of that. Or are you indeed just another politician? Please do not be. You are better than that.