A Slightly Encouraging Speech

This is an interesting partial transcript from a speech given by the governor of New Jersey (a link to the full speech is also given, but I haven't listened to it yet). I found this section particularly noteworthy:

And so we need to get honest with each other. In this instance, the political class,for which unfortunately all of us are a member of, the political class is lagging behind the public on this. The public is ready to hear that tough choices have to be made. They're not going to like it. Don't confuse the two. But they are ready to hear the truth.

In fact, they find it refreshing to hear the truth.

They are tired of hearing, don't worry I can spare you from the pain, because they have been hearing that for a decade, as we have borrowed and spent and taxed our way into oblivion.

We have done every quick fix in the book that you can do. And now we are left, literally holding the bag.

Leadership should be about making tough decisions. I'm not hear to tell you that anything you are going to have to do as mayors, council people will be easy. But I firmly believe after spending the last year traveling around the state of New Jersey, talking to regular citizens, that this is what they are expecting us to do.

The primary reason we've gotten unrealistic and lying politicians is because that's what the electorate wanted. If the above is true, and the electorate has become more focused on reality, i.e. more rational, then it's a very positive sign (and one that opens many more avenues to those advocating rational ideas).