Can politicians really write?

Can Hawaii’s politicians really write? I mean can they effectively communicate via their own written words?

I suspect they cannot. Look at the number of laws passed by our educated lawmakers that are required to be amended, as in ‘rewritten’, so they make sense and reflect the original intent.

Politicians hire speechwriters. Is it possible they hire bill writers, too? Is the staff of a lawmaker not complete until they’ve hired someone to research and write a bill. Does the lawmaker then simply read the rough draft, and say, “Yeah, looks pretty good. Make copies, distribute, and let’s vote on it.”

Governor Linda Lingle released a proclamation Sunday at the Na Koa Football Club Annual Waterhouse Memorial Football Awards Banquet which honored the University of Hawaii’s football Warriors.

The complete text of the Proclamation showed up on HawaiiReporter on Monday. The proclamation, The Year of Warriors Football, was bylined by Governor Lingle and Lt. Governor Duke Aiona.

Did they actually write that proclamation? Or, was it ghost written by a staff member? I suspect the latter, as the proclamation is filled with statistics and football jargon and facts and figures that would not seem to be the domain of Hawaii’s first female governor.

Regardless of who wrote the proclamation, someone will need to sharpen their pencil. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with the proclamation. The Warriors are due their due. So is head coach June Jones, whose contract expires soon.

Someone will need to write a new contract and a new check to keep Jones in Hawaii.