The Ideal Politician

by John Lindstrom
Gongwer News Service
May 7, 2010

It seems almost sacrilegious to suggest it, but Ernie Harwell was the ideal politician.

Take a breath.

Yes, somehow lumping Ernie Harwell — now, one has to know, seated at the right hand of Red Barber and running through the lineup cards of the eternal game they will call, with Walter Johnson and Christy Matthewson facing each other on the mound, and Ruth, Gehrig, Robinson, LaJoie, Mantle, Williams, DiMaggio among the batters — with the gang that can’t throw, field or hit — even on things they agree — would trigger one’s gag reflex faster than a cheek full of bad chaw.

How could Ernie ever be tied to the members standing there like the House and Senate by the side of the road, one might ask. Put him up with politicians whose ability to move forward, not less their careers, is long gone? Even a fan from WestlandLivoniaHighlandParkFlintKalamazooBurhans knows such a thing is wilder than a rookie phenom.

Again, take a breath. Because as bizarre as the notion might sound, Ernie Harwell’s life and career, now sadly ended 92 years too soon, frame how the ideal politician ought to act.

Because in the obituaries that followed him, in the memories he raised, the quality emphasized most was not his knowledge of the game or his ability to communicate what was happening on the field (both sterling, and both critical to a good politician) but his openness, his ability to accept everyone at face value and to not look for the hidden motives even he knew were there, his determination to give his best, expecting others to do the same but not judging them when they did not or could not or when their best wasn’t very good.

He understood the transitory nature of things and how they fit — and knew that the boulder one faces today, be that car trouble on the way to work, a bad diagnosis, or the maddening inability to reach compromise on an issue everyone agrees needs to be reached, will be little more than a pebble in most cases in the long term — into the larger, often chaotic scheme of life. He was not afraid to deliver bad news because he understood that it would be balanced with good news that would always somehow come.

Ernie was not naïve. In his books it’s clear he understood the motivations of owners and general managers and players and how those affected his work and what the fans saw. If people just wanted to play the game for the joy of playing the game, sports would never advance beyond the playgrounds. So, too, if people just wanted to win popularity contests they’d quit at homecoming king and queen and not worry about politics in general.

He understood the importance of fame and money. If he hadn’t, he would have been content to broadcast Atlanta Cracker games for the rest of his life.

But he also understood the nature of any joint operation, of any team, and how individual performance has to play in the overall goal of the group. He understood the need to strengthen the overall team, sometimes by sacrificing the lowest performer.

Yet, he never cast blame. He understood that the best one does sometimes isn’t as good as what is needed, so he was able to assess without judgment.

In his 42 years of covering the Tigers he covered a lot of rotten seasons, stinker seasons so bad they made pigsties smell sweet. Yet, he conveyed a confidence and assurance, and as annoyed as the public was with the team (and anyone who went to games during that time knew how annoyed they were) they didn’t lose hope either.

So, what would be the lessons of Chairman Ernie that politicians could follow? Well, the first, possibly the toughest, is be straight. Speak directly, inform, give the whole story, don’t spin. And never be afraid to be straight. If things are bad, say they are bad.

Second, equally tough, hey maybe even tougher, is don’t blame. Forget about accusation, forget about getting even, focus on a bigger goal and from that build your success.

Third, project calm, be excited only when excitement is merited and then never let it overtake your bearing. One has to be engaged, one has to be focused, but one also has to seem in command. If politics is about leadership, then leadership requires one to attempt to stay in command even when events threaten to overwhelm all else.

Fourth, always be truly and reasonably optimistic. Politicians play to optimism naturally, but so often it seems scripted and false. Rational optimism means staying determined and hopeful even as one deals the gloomy reality.

And fifth, and okay maybe really this is the toughest of all, never quit. All of these lessons really come down to: never quit. Never give up on yourself or anyone else. To the very end, even when one knows what the end will be, never quit.

Could politicians live by those rules? Possibly. There is no question that had Ernie, following these rules, run against any politician in this state he would have won in a walkoff.

John Lindstrom is publisher of Gongwer News Service. For nearly 50 years in Michigan, Gongwer News Service has provided independent, comprehensive, accurate and timely coverage of issues in and around Michigan’s government and political systems. For subscription information, including a free trial, visit Gongwer online.