In politics, shouldn't duty trump friendship?

This afternoon I heard NPR's broadcast follow-up of the story, Black Lawmakers Rethink Clinton Support. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri was interviewed about some of the pressure being exerted on black members of Congress who support Hillary Clinton.

I was particularly struck by Rep. Cleaver's explanation of his support for Clinton. He explained that she is his friend, and then boiled it down to one statement:

"Loyalty trumps all," he said.

To illustrate this further, he talked about saving a seat for a fellow Congressman at the State of the Union address instead of giving it to a stranger - another black man - to demonstrate how race should not trump friendship. He also talked about joking with Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., an Obama supporter, that it wasn't too late to throw his support to Clinton, and that maybe she'd find a place for him in the executive branch after she became president.

I don't really mind that Cleaver supports Hillary Clinton, even though I support Obama. I do mind that Rep. Cleaver proclaims "loyalty" as the top reason for his support, as opposed to something along the lines of, "I firmly believe she's the more qualified candidate for the job."

Where I'm from, people who distrust Democrats bring up issues like corruption and nepotism. When a Democratic Congressman goes on national radio and makes a big point of supporting Hillary Clinton because she is his friend, and talks about what her supporters stand to gain in terms of their personal careers - even in jest - he raises the corruption/nepotism warning flag. While public proclamations of loyalty surely win points with the Clintons, it does not do much to convince the voters that Democratic leaders stand for something other than their own careers (which is a lot of the criticism that I hear every day about Hillary Clinton).

See, we every day non-super non-delegate voters don't usually have the opportunity to become friends with presidential contenders. We have to vote based on principles, policy statements, voting records and the like. And I imagine we want our super delegates using the same criteria. In many ways, the greater the appearance of friendship among politicians, the greater the fear of corruption. And not without reason.

So much of modern politics is a language game, and our Democratic leaders really need to think carefully about using language that portrays them as being loyal for loyalty's sake. The language should reflect something along the lines of, "I support the candidate who I believe has the best plan for America."

It's nice if that candidate happens to be your friend, but if not, you have to stand for either your friend or the American people.