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[Jackpine Radical]

202. OK, some terms have been rather corrupted by sloppy usage.

"Political" is such a term. The word has come to mean something synonymous with "cynical" but it really just relates to the process of governance. To say that something is "political" is merely to say that it relates to the process of governing, so at that level at least, what I EXPECT from politicians is that they do "political" things. Sometimes the art of politics involves "stunts" even when the purpose is not a cynical or self-serving one.

One further point I should establish here is that I really doubt that Bernie in his wildest imaginings ever thought he would declare for the Presidency. His prior actions were not conditioned on the question of how they would look in a Presidential candidate. He's pretty much continuing on his habitual course, with no change in his espoused values, nor much of one in his actions. That seems to me to be an important fact.

And as an afterthought, I just now flashed back on Abbie Hoffman and the street theater of the Vietnam War protest era. Abby said something about "crying 'Theater!' in the middle of a crowded fire."