Are we to the point where all possible political discourse is dead? Jimmy Breslin, the crusty old journalist who has seen it all, has this to say:

I sit here in New York and I don't believe one single solitary word of what the government says. Can you believe anything Bush says? Only if you're a rank sucker. Then you put that Rumsfeld on and he grimaces and tells you the first thing he thinks of, and here is Powell, who I thought would be our first black national candidate and he's as bad as the rest of them.

I'm concerned when even cynics are overcome. Cynics take things with a grain of salt. Breslin isn't "taking" anything now. He's not listening and qualifying what he hears. Now he's not listening at all. When audiences don't listen there is no discourse, no hope for a meeting of the minds. There is no hope for negotiation of meaning or simple understanding. When dialogue is poisoned in a democracy, the democratic system is in great jeparody. It is important that we demand truth-telling from our leaders. Watch and listen to your representatives at all levels of government--keep them accountable for the sake of democracy in this country.

To read all of Breslin's essay, click here.