Kids and politicians say the darndest things

At the end of his show Art Linkletter's House Party, Art Linkletter interviewed children in a segment called "Kids Say the Darndest Things." These interviews with children were always hilarious. Here are three examples:

Linkletter: Who's the boss of your house, your mother or your dad?

Child: Both of them.

Linkletter: Hey, you're a diplomat are you?

Child: No, I'm a Catholic-Baptist.

Linkletter: Who took the first bite (of the forbidden fruit)?

Child: Adam, then Eve.

Linkletter: Boy, I bet God was mad.

Child: God sent them to Hell; then transferred them to Los Angeles.

Linkletter: What's the hardest thing about school for you?

Child: Buttoning my pants.

If you need some belly laughs, click this YouTube link!

You know, politicians say the darndest things, too. If you read my column last week, you'll recall that Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper, D-Pa., said, "We do lots of things that aren't in the Constitution." This week, our subject is President Obama, who last week was promoting healthcare reform to a group of 1,000 rabbis on a conference call, where he said, "We are partners with God in decisions of life and death."

I reread my pocket Constitution and couldn't find the part about the president or Congress partnering with God for life and death healthcare decisions. As I mentioned last week, statements like this made by our federal leaders, especially in light of the oaths they've taken to perform their limited constitutional duties, baffle me. Moreover, I'm perplexed as to why the president would make his statement to rabbis who undoubtedly are familiar with the Ten Commandments and the one that states, "Thou Shall Not Kill." In terms of Judaism and the Constitution, Obama's conference call seems a bit odd.

In the context of history, however, the president's remarks aren't very remarkable. For centuries, mankind has wrestled with governors and governments to establish the proper relationship between state power and the people. Rulers routinely trampled on their citizens and sought to rule both sword and spirit. With the birth of Roger Williams' Providence Plantation and, later, the United States of America, this paradigm began to change for Americans.

For the past several decades the people of the United States have been ceding and losing power to our federal government. We're regressing in this historical struggle. Now is the time to remember our history and the history of Western Civilization.

A commentator said the following on Wednesday in response to President Obama's views:

"One of the great lessons of the United States of America is that the state is not God's partner in anything, much less matters of life and death. We are servants of God. The suggestion that such a partnership exists---partnership with God 'in matters of life and death,' said President Obama . . . is vulgar. It is a debasement of life. And it is itself un-American."

Do you agree with him?

Yes, kids and politicians say the darndest things. Kids can make us laugh and politicians can change our world.

Question: What's the hardest thing about being an American?

Answer: Preserving our freedom.