# Frist: Gov't Unwanted in End-of-Life Cases **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 31, 2006, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frist-govt-unwanted-in-end-of-life-cases/342288 "2006-01-31T01:10:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frist-govt-unwanted-in-end-of-life-cases/342288/21 "2006-02-01T15:51:11Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > We’re not even talking about enlightened self-interest in this case, though. We’re talking about self-interest in national politics. Well that’s politics, a politician is going to be constantly strategizing. That’s why we so dearly love politicians who can appear heartfelt when they do it. > [@](#): > > Politicians admit to policy screwups constantly? I have to admit that’s news to me. Ever hear the term “Best information at the time.”? > [@](#): > > Well DUH. That’s exactly what makes people cynical! And I think that cynicism is quite justified in this context. Yeah, Frist is a jagoff, but what’cha gonna do? > [@](#): > > What difference does it make in how people act? Apologizing for a mistake you’ve been burned for - and doing it way after the fact - is exactly how people act in governance of the country. If there’s anything heartening here, it’s that the people who were on the wrong side of this issue _eventually_ realized that the majority of the public hated what they were doing. Of course, the public felt the same way while it was going on and that didn’t slow them down a bit… Well it’s a matter of public record that he said it, a politician lives their lives in public. It’s like playing chess, he moved his bishop out where it exposed his knight, so he lost that knight and moved his bishop back to his home side. He has to live with a strategic decision that he made, in this case coming out and saying “I’m sorry.”, and so do his allies. It makes a difference, even though it might seem like a sea of politics, those little things politicians say do matter, and do affect the way people act. The Republicans as a whole are getting smacked down on a whole lot of stuff where they overextended their line in the past few years. Basically they saw they had the upper hand and they scrambled once they had it, but their strength has shown to be a bit less than they thought it was, and so they have to back down a little bit and consolidate, that leaves room for other people to move in and take control of situations, it’s the way politics works. Erek ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2006, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frist-govt-unwanted-in-end-of-life-cases/342288/22 "2006-02-01T16:44:42Z")
**mswas** , you’re not saying anything novel here. You’re not even saying anything different from what I said. You’re just phrasing it differently and relying on “that’s life,” which I already knew. In other words, you’re admitting his apology is just strategy. Why should I applaud him for that strategy? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frist-govt-unwanted-in-end-of-life-cases/342288.md?page=1)