The Sinema vet ad is wonderful so step off, haters

It’s well known that prominent politicians, due to having to raise funds constantly (which means having to avoid pissing off donors) and being under a 24/7 microscope, aren’t able to be open and candid much of the time. On the other hand, politicians are far from the only people whose jobs and social lives require a high level of insincerity. I’d say very few (lucky) people get to be their true, unedited selves most of the time. It’s just that politicians, particularly when trying to be reelected, are “on the job” more often than most people. So while it’s tempting to assume that every public move a politician makes is 100% calculated and manipulative, I think that’s a mistake. Politicians are human and, like everyone else, they have things that they feel strongly about. An example of that is President Obama and health care reform. Whether or not you agree with how he handled the issue, it’s hard to doubt his sincerity about it when he relates memories of his cancer-stricken mother having to deal with insurance companies.

Another case in point is this new ad for Rep. Kyrsten Sinema:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9WydeJNLHU?feature=player_embedded&w=640&h=360]

I happen to think this is one of the best political ads I’ve ever seen. The reason for that is, quite simply, that I believe Sinema. There’s no reason outside of sheer cynicism to assume that the Congresswoman is “exploiting a veteran’s suicide”, as her Republican opponent harrumphed into a press release. It’s quite honestly repugnant to think that the parents of the PTSD ravaged veteran who took his own life are exploiting their own son or are being duped by a wily politician. The parents seem genuinely interested in sharing their son’s story to bring attention to veterans issues and genuinely impressed with Rep. Sinema’s resolve to make things better. Sinema also talks about her brothers, both of whom are serving in the military, to further emphasize how important this is to her personally. “That could be my little brother. That could be my big brother.” Is anyone really going to suggest Kyrsten Sinema doesn’t care about her own brothers?

The faux-outraged reaction to the ad reminds me of how right wingers attacked Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly for starting a PAC to address gun violence. I remember a pair of Republican consultants I was on a TV panel with pulling the “well, some people are saying that Gabby and Mark are pandering!” on me. Really? It couldn’t have been because Gabby Giffords got shot, along with several other people, by a deranged gunman with a lot of ammo? The kneejerk assumption that politicians are never sincere is almost as dumb as believing every word a politician says. I suggest examining the context and using your judgment to determine that.