“What miserable drones and traitors have I nourished and brought up in my household, who let their lord be treated with such shameful contempt by a low-born cleric?”

– Henry II, 1170 A.D.

We live in such a rich age. The United States of America has existed in spite of its government for centuries now. Franklin defined the stage and all the plays to be conducted upon it when asked: “Well, Doctor, what have we got; a Republic or a Monarchy?” “A republic, if you can keep it” was his reply. Who knew keeping a republic responsive to the government of the people would be so difficult.

But, when men seek involvement in anything, there will be competition, and drive and avaricious pursuit of personal power. As is true of any nation, the reins controlling the laboring body (the horse) must be held in the hands of the experienced teamster (the actual driver, not the Union member). The job must be learned through apprenticeship and hours spent at the lowest levels of the job. The person tasked to tend to the chores requisite of learning the specifics of equine care: the drudgery of shoveling, the endless combing, dressing and feeding plus proper exercising of the animals, the knowledge to be learned of veterinary care and treatment develops humility from his apprenticeship and strength of purpose from his education. It requires more than sitting in the seat and saying “giddy-up!”

Our plunge into the realm of dynastic disorder was shepherded by such luminaries as Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. Roosevelt advertised himself as a “man of the people” and Woodrow Wilson was a patrician, oligarch believing his presidency was a mandate delivered from the will of the people because of the general, popular vote. Neither believed Americans capable of ruling themselves because of a growing laissez-faire non-participation in government by the people. The people abdicated control of government to their elected officials based on naiveté and laziness.

Roosevelt and Wilson rose to prominence by appointment to some offices and election to others. Roosevelt served his apprenticeship in New York politics, the Federal Government and the Cabinet of President William McKinley. In September 1901, President McKinley was assassinated. Theodore Roosevelt became the youngest person ever to serve as President. Neither the nation nor the presidency would ever be the same again.

Woodrow Wilson was formerly the Governor of New Jersey after being President of Princeton University for eight years. He won the presidency based a ticket split between William Howard Taft, Eugene Debs and Teddy Roosevelt. While experienced in government both secular and state, he was a believer in class structure taking precedence in American culture and saw himself at the pinnacle of that class structure. America’s descent into Progressive Political distancing of the people from their government deepened.

The White House is suffering from a laser hot, politically incendiary series of scandals brought about by abuses at the highest levels. To explain; the “highest levels” explains government’s maintenance of compartmentalized actions and policies distancing the presidency from controversy through a concept called “Plausible Deniability” or distancing the crown from the actions of its underlings. So much is accomplished by a faceless bureaucracy NO ONE PERSON can claim oversight and supervision of the entire mechanism. The presidency has overall control of government but government has grown so large nothing can control all of it. It’s easy to see where low-level but ambitious bureaucrats in the administration take it upon themselves to chase the president’s favor by giving him what they perceive he desires.

Thomas Becket was assassinated by minions of an angry, pestered monarch proclaiming his displeasure at his underlings’ failure to dissuade Becket from his controversy with the throne. Those same minions took it upon themselves to kill the Archbishop of Canterbury (Becket).

Now the underlings at various layers of the administration have taken it upon themselves to prevent their lord’s treatment with “such shameful contempt” by Tea Party activists and organizations critical of Obama’s “plausibly denied” participation in or command of actions potentially illegal and damaging to the government. They’ve done this through the Internal Revenue Service’s interference in people’s lives for no better reason than those people are a thorn in the side of the president and the participants are always seeking ways to better their personal lot in life. It happened with George Bush the younger. It’s happening with Obama.

And this ignominy has caused another death: the trust and faith the American people place in their government.

Thanks for listening.