When insatiable egos drive conduct

Two of our local luminaries with seemingly nothing in common have recently received national attention because of their public pronouncements.

First, former governor Thompson proclaimed justice had already been served in the case of George Ryan and will petition President Bush for a presidential pardon now that the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review the case after the federal appeals court ruled it would not reconsider Ryan's sweeping conviction.

Never mind Thompson's earlier position that he would drop the matter if the Supreme Court would not hear the case, and we should also ignore the fact that Ryan has never uttered a word of remorse or regret for his criminal actions.

Then comes Rev. Pfleger who, not to be outdone by Rev. Wright, also interjects himself into the presidential primary process.

His buffoonish performance, clearly designed to gain favor from a biased audience, earned him the notoriety he sought and regrettably his only punishment is a two-week suspension in which he should contemplate the wisdom of his public statement.

What drives these two?

Clearly, each has an insatiable ego which must be fed and their causes are simply the delivery system for its satisfaction.

The sooner the media and public realize this, the sooner we will be mercifully spared any further displays from them or their ilk.

Bernard J. Smith

Barrington