Guest column: We need a new saying about politics — 'Winning is just the beginning'

Vince Lombardi, the legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers, often said: “Winning isn’t everything … it’s the only thing.” Lombardi was talking about football, but the saying applies equally to politics. We’re still caught up in a weird daily drama about the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. Did Donald Trump really lose, as the evidence clearly shows? Or did he really win, as some people still think?

The Donald Trump Show is just one example of how the political process has been transformed into a horse race in which only one thing matters ― who wins and who loses.

Here in Oklahoma, the focus in the governor’s race has narrowed to the somewhat surprising strength of Democratic challenger Joy Hofmeister. The polls show the race is neck-and-neck. All attention is on whether Republican incumbent Kevin Stitt can muster his forces and hold her off in the stretch.

But lost in the excitement of the battle is the fact that the election is really only the first step in a political process that is designed to put people in public office who can do something worthwhile once they get there. Too many public officials these days seem to be engaged in perpetual campaigning for their next election two years or four years down the road instead of using their time in office to make government work better for the people.

I was reminded of this recently as I sat in an uncomfortable chair at a Department of Public Safety driver's license exam site. Many others were sitting with me. Unable to make an appointment, we had arrived early in the morning, registered at a computer terminal and received a number. First come, first served. It was “impossible,” a DPS employee told me, to estimate when any of us might be called. So we all waited. Wasting time. Some of us losing pay. I had to leave for another appointment after lunch. My number wasn’t called until 3:30 p.m., more than seven hours after I signed up to be served. Since I got nowhere, another long wait still lies ahead.

When I tell this story, I get puzzled looks. What did I expect? We’ve come to take it for granted that dealing with government agencies ― local, state and federal ― is painful. Why should this be? Modern technology allows private sector businesses of all kinds to serve customers quickly and efficiently. Their managers and technical support people are fast to resolve glitches because they are accountable for poor customer service. Not so in many government agencies. Just ask someone who has needed Medicare or mental health services or wasted hours trying to obtain basic documentation, like a driver’s license. Oklahoma recently passed legislation intended to address complaints about the licensing centers by streamlining our strange system of having “tag agencies” involved in the vehicle registration and regulation process. Nothing seems to be happening, and I have my doubts that a year from now ― or two or three ― driver’s licenses will be issued quickly and conveniently.

And to a large degree, it’s our own fault. I include the media in this because they are driven by what their audiences are looking for. We’re too content to accept the status quo instead of complaining loudly and demanding accountability. The governor is in many ways the CEO of a big enterprise with many departments providing essential services. The CEO should demand results from department heads, and we should demand the same of the CEO. I wonder how many questions either Gov. Stitt or challenger Hofmeister have received during their campaigns about the sorry state of the DPS or the operation of other departments. Sadly, we seemed to have resigned ourselves to the depressing reality that many state agencies are slow and inefficient (and worse, in some cases). We just cheer for our choices in the 2022 race, and when that’s over start laying odds on who will win the next time around. We need a new saying about politics.

Winning is just the beginning.

William C. Wertz is a writer with an extensive background in journalism and corporate communications. He was chief political correspondent for The Associated Press in South Dakota and Illinois and later became a communications director for Phillips Petroleum Co. in Bartlesville and Walmart in Bentonville, Arkansas. His blog on media and politics is at www.Facebook.com/2wiceasfast. He and his wife, Marva, live in Oklahoma City.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Guest: Will those who win elections do something worthwhile?