Hey there! I got an answer from Senator Merkley about the question I asked regarding a statement he allegedly made that concerned me. I say “allegedly” because it was in an email that I’m pretty sure he didn’t write, but I bet he thought it was OK. In it, he referred to how his efforts were to help “ordinary” Americans. My question to him was, “how do you refer to other Americans that you don’t view as ordinary?”, or words to that effect.

Here’s the response … not an answer …

Dear Jerold, Thank you for your email received on November 23, 2013, sharing your thoughts about my recent e-newsletter, the Oregon Report. I have made note of your perspective and appreciate your feedback.  Please know I benefit greatly by hearing a wide spectrum of opinions expressed by Oregonians.  I listen carefully to and weigh these views as I study each issue and decide how to best advance policies that help Oregonians and their families. Thank you, again, for sharing your thoughts with me. All my best, Jeffrey A. Merkley United States Senator
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Just another canned email that didn’t address my question even a little bit.

Or, maybe it is an answer because he considers me just an ordinary American who will be perfectly happy that he responded at all. The fact that he, and his minions, didn’t address my question directly tells me a lot with regard to their effort to communicate effectively.

Or, maybe they were just too busy to be bothered with trivial ‘things’.

Yes. That must be it.

They are all just too busy wrapping things up so the senator can go on his Christmas … oops, sorry … holiday vacation.

I’m proud to be an Ordinary American.

Considering that, yesterday I told Diane that I think I’ll run for president the next time we have an election. She said, “where are you going to get the millions of dollars you’ll need to fund a campaign?” A simple statement that speaks volumes about what’s wrong with the majority of non-ordinary Americans who run our country. You can only get elected if you have money, or you know someone who does and they’re willing to spend it on you.

That’s sad.

I rate that right up there with movie ratings on the news. The only factor pertinent to this report is how many millions of dollars a movie made when it was released, not how good or enjoyable it is. They are just relating the money to popularity.

Same for politics.

OK. Now I’m done. Maybe the Secret Service will show up this time.

Speaking about that, during my last career, I worked with a retired Secret Service agent who was one of Nixon’s personal guards.

Go figure.