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Michael Cianchette is a Navy reservist who served in Afghanistan. He is in-house counsel to a number of businesses in southern Maine and was a chief counsel to former Gov. Paul LePage.
The great debate of our age has begun anew. Was the Patriots’ success more due to Tom Brady or Bill Belichick?
I’ve got my thoughts. And they inform politics, too.
The Brady boosters claim it was all him. Exhibits A through 100 are his countless 4th quarter game-winning drives. Exhibit B is his Tampa Bay Buccaneers Super Bowl ring. Exhibit C is Belichick’s losing record with the Patriots after Brady’s departure.
Meanwhile, Belichick partisans point at the two Super Bowl victories over the Rams. The 2001 Patriots kept St. Louis’ explosive “Greatest Show on Turf” offense in check, limiting them to 17 points. The 2018 season saw Los Angeles stymied by a relentless Patriots defense who surrendered only 3 points.
Of course, Belichick was well-regarded before his time with New England. The defensive game plan he concocted to help the New York Giants beat the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
So was the two decade dynasty of the Patriots more Brady or Belichick?
My answer? I reject the premise of the question. The answer is both.
The GOAT — greatest of all time — quarterback and GOAT coach each deserve significant credit for the myriad successes of New England’s football team. Neither would have been as successful without the other, nor without the remarkable teams they were part of. Trying to give either all the credit — or blame — is a fool’s errand.
The same applies to politics.
Detractors of President Joe Biden blame him for gas prices. Boosters credit him for lowering drug prices or reducing inflation.
Both are fool’s errands.
The president — whoever occupies the oval office — is not some god-emperor whose will is law. They are an important piece of the puzzle, but they are Tom Brady to Congress’ Bill Belichick. And it is the latter who is supposed to build the plan for the former to implement.
That is important to keep in mind as we race towards an apparent rematch between Biden and former President Donald Trump. Whatever accomplishments each claim on the trail, it is important to remember that they were enabled by Congress. For better or worse.
In the worse column, trillions upon trillions of dollars were added to the national debt during Trump’s administration. Biden has continued that streak. Sometimes GOP-led Congresses helped push the profligate spending, sometimes Democratic leadership brought us there.
Like Belichick and Brady, both presidents and Congress worked together to achieve higher scores. Unlike the Patriots duo, you don’t “win” the debt game by incurring as much as possible.
If we’re lucky, we might see a fight over debt break out on the campaign trail. If either Biden or Trump starts to take the problem seriously, we will be better off for it.
But the president is only part of the equation. Congress famously controls the purse strings. U.S. Reps. Jared Golden and Chellie Pingree have both voted for significant spending bills during their time in Washington, playing a part in increasing our national debt.
That is why their GOP challenges should stake out their positions on the debt and their dedication to doing something about it. Solving the problem will probably require solutions that make lots of people unhappy.
Like when Tom Brady and Bill Belichick left the Patriots.
Yet, while New England’s dynasty may be at an end, a different group of patriots might find a way for America’s remarkable run to continue on. It may take a new roster in Congress and a dedicated player in the White House.
Add in a world-beating defensive gameplan for our nation’s creditworthiness and we might actually start to finally build back better.