Everyone knows that Washington is a town of egos. An Acropolis of arrogance. A hamlet of hubris.
But wait! Those old stereotypes, it turns out, are wrong. The city is actually a capital of humility. Humble is the new pinstripe.
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Full text of President Obama’s speech on national security
“We must define the nature and scope of this struggle, or else it will define us,” the president said.
Witness the staggering outpouring of extreme modesty from politicians on both sides of the aisle (excessive meekness knows no party label these days).
Perhaps making the bowed-head pose stylish was Mitt Romney, who upon clinching the requisite number of delegates to be named the Republicans’ presidential standard-bearer back in May, declared himself to be “honored . . . and humbled.”
The humility hasn’t stopped flowing since. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) was “humbled” to be chosen as Romney’s running mate.
Rep. Connie Mack was “humbled” by Romney’s endorsement in the Florida GOP primary. Senate hopeful Linda McMahon in Connecticut gushed on her Facebook page that she was “humbled by the overwhelming support” from fellow Republicans.
But if you really want to humble a politician, write him a big check. Seems much of the humility emanating from campaigns is closely tied to donations.
In an e-mail thanking supporters of his Senate bid in Virginia (and seeking still more dough), Tim Kaine (D) said he was “humbled by the breadth and depth of the grassroots support.” Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), seeking to drum up a few more donations to meet a fundraising goal, said in a campaign e-mail that she was “so amazed and humbled” by the money flowing in.
A hefty war chest prompted Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) to say: “I’m humbled by the number of individuals and families who believe America can still be great.”
And the list goes on. Of the “support” (also known as “donations”) they’ve gotten, candidates had this to say:
Rep. Louise Slaughter (D- N.Y.): “one of the most humbling experiences of my whole life.”
Rep. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.): “humbling.”
Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska): “humbled and honored.”
Minnesota Democratic House candidate Rick Nolan : “truly humbled.”
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), through a spokesman: “humbled.”
In fact, we found dozens of instances of candidates declaring themselves humbled by one thing or another — usually money.
The results of our quest, we should say, left us both humbled and amazed. Did we mention humbled?
Not just blowing smoke
Sometimes “out” is in, and sometimes “in” is out?
President Obama recently noted that “you can’t change Washington from the inside. You can only change it from the outside.”
Not so, says Stephen Buyer, the former nine-term Republican lawmaker from Indiana who unsuccessfully challenged federal anti-tobacco regulation when he was on the Hill. (And received more than $100,000 in donations from the industry over the years, according to a report Tuesday from ProPublica.)
“To be an agent of change,” Buyer told the Indiana General Assembly’s Health Finance Commission on Sept. 19, “you can do it from the outside and attack tobacco manufacturers like many anti-tobacco organizations do or you can do it from the inside. I have chosen to be an agent from the inside.”
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