Politicians we admire

This Presidents Weekend, let's take a moment to recall some politicians with real class. Fortunately, columnists noted two of them this month -- one a Republican and one a Democrat.

Mark Shields, in a column that appeared on February 11, wrote:

Probably because I have lived and worked in Washington during the administrations of nine U.S. presidents, people have been asking me lately if politics in this capital city has always been as mean, ugly and personally poisonous as it is today. Acknowledging that men of a certain age often slip into our nostalgic anecdotage, where the girls were prettier, the beer was colder and the songs had better lyrics, I still do remember a political Washington where decency and honor were practiced.

You can read the entire column here. (By the way, I do believe the beer was colder back then.)

David Broder wrote about a politician on February 16:

"Stan believes a congressman should think issues through clearly on their individual merits without being concerned about labels; have imagination and the ability to suggest positive ideas; be sympathetic to the desires and aspirations of his constituents when not in conflict with the security and well-being of the nation; have personal courage to vote as he thinks wisest in face of political pressure and criticism; keep his constituents informed of his views -- it is just as important that people have opportunity to disagree as to agree with their representative; and, finally, that he should place a higher priority on conscience than on reelection."

The rest of that column appears here.