Stupidity Has A Cost

When Ed Hatchett was Auditor of Public Accounts I worked for him as his Chief Information Officer. That means I talked a lot about computers and tried to keep the real techies from getting in too much trouble while I kept the suits off their backs.

During that period of time I and my techs really, I mean really, wanted to go to BlackHat and DEFCON. Ed would never let us go.

The simple reason for not going was that the conventions were always held in Las Vegas. The Auditor was not about to send a couple of techies to Vegas for a week on the state dime. It didn’t matter how valuable the training would be or what kind of connections could be made.

He couldn’t stop us from spending our own money and going, but that idea was seriously discourage because it looked bad and we took the hint.

The bottom line was this:

Appearance was as bad as reality. A week in Vegas at state expense just wasn’t going to happen. Yes, Ed Hatchett really did act like every dime of state money spent on anything was coming out of his pocket. That’s the kind of attitude you want from an Auditor.

An even the Auditor’s Office techs spending their own money and time playing Spot The Fed was discouraged.

So what really amazes me is that how few politicians and their staff members get these two simple points.

One, appearing to commit an unethical, illegal or immoral act (like sending staff for a week in Vegas) when you are in the public eye is the same as actually committing the act and;

Two, not dealing with the issue immediately will only make things worse. Being stupid has a cost and you will eventually pay for every act of stupidity you commit.

Recent examples are plentiful.

Paul Patton’s affair with Tina Conner ended Patton’s aspirations to be United States Senator and the fall out helped to trash Ben Chandler’s bid for Governor.

Blogger Mark Nickolas and his tax problems damaged his credibility as a political commentator.

Ernie Fletcher’s incompetent handling of the merit system scandal destroyed his chances for a second term.

Now we have Jonathan Miller dealing with the appearance of inappropriate behavior. These things never just go away and how he handles this will go a long way in determining his political future.

The only guy who appears to be smart enough to get this is Phil Osborne. Sad thing is, he won’t be in the Beshear administration to keep the others straight.