Vindicated

A while back I wrote about a careless slip or idle prattle on the Stated Clerk's part when he made an early (and actually quite considerate) announcement of his retirement next June. "I am making this announcement now so that the Stated Clerk Nominating Committee … will have ample time to search diligently and discern whom to propose to the 218th General Assembly (2008) for election as the next Stated Clerk” [emphasis added].

Clifton Kirkpatrick was obviously assuming the nominating committee would be busy beating the bushes for the next Stated Clerk, operating as a proactive search committee. That was an incorrect assumption, as it turns out. Kirkpatrick's announcement didn't necessarily aid the nominating committee, since its job right now is to wait for applications. Instead his timely announcement nicely served the others who were considering applying for the position.

I made the case in my posting for why Kirkpatrick was in error, that the committee was tasked specifically to receive and not actively search for nominations. But then a few persons writing comments on my posting got all over me for my assertion, as if I were gravely misinformed or inventing meaning. Not so.

I viewed today--okay, with sinful gloating--a comment attributed to Steve Grace, Stated Clerk Nominating Committee Chair: "... in the interest of fairness to all the candidates, it is not our role to invite specific individuals to apply..." [emphasis added]. My previous points exactly.

Excuse me, please, while I do a little dance around my office.