Government does not run well on autopilot.

The crisis of credibility fostered by the axis of progressive government elites and their fellow-travelers at the top of American legacy media has hit a new low, and the long-term damage their serial charades have done to the foundations of our republic is just beginning to be recognized. 

A chorus of co-conspirators are now baring their souls to confirm what most sentient citizens have known for years: President Joe Biden was not competent to serve as president and his family, staff and news organizations covered it up or looked the other way.

The conduct of these people at the apex of power was so craven it would make Machiavelli blush. The corrosive effects of the idol of ideological smugness combined with the addiction to power have eaten away at the vital trust and confidence leaders require to govern effectively.   

This is as true in Washington, DC., as it is at the Colorado Capitol or your city hall. 

When cynicism spikes, credibility craters.

It goes well beyond the age-old low expectations for bumbling bureaucrats or long lines at the DMV.  

American government is fundamentally about human leadership. We must have confidence that the men and women we entrust with power can make difficult decisions based on nuanced scenarios on a daily basis. This need for sharp, focused and agile thinking only rises amid the series of crises that confront any elected executive. 

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Having seen the challenges a Colorado governor faces, up close, every day, it is difficult for me to imagine the level of daily obfuscation the Biden White House engaged in. 

Consider the basics. A governor must decide whether to sign hundreds of bills each year, and sometimes dozens in a day, and be able to explain why. That’s the relatively easy stuff. 

A wildfire, mass shooting, plane crash — any of the tragedies that arise, sooner or later — require focus, tactical thinking, an ability to listen and synthesize advice and report to the citizenry with authority and credibility. Sometimes lives depend on people believing, and acting on, what they are told. 

The woeful incompetence of the mayor of Los Angeles, who was celebrating in Africa while her city burned, is an example of how easily, and quickly, authority can be shredded. 

This is not a partisan critique — it is a civic alarm bell. At stake is not just the capacity of individual leaders, but the credibility of American governance itself. That legitimacy is reinforced when leaders know they are being scrutinized by an aggressive and impartial media. 

It was once said that American media were to report the facts without “fear or favor.” It has evolved into the elite media having no fear of doing their friends a favor — at severe and lasting cost to our republic. 

They have countenanced and abetted base lies that would bring a 6-year-old a long sit in the corner. 

These episodes may have been ideologically expedient, but they were also morally dubious. Today, we should expect more. We live in an era of unprecedented access to information and demands for accountability. Shielding an existential crisis with the American president for partisan motives flies in the face of that progress.

A government that is allowed to withhold truth creates a public square where rumors thrive and trust decays. A government that fears scrutiny cannot be trusted.

This moment is a challenge for leaders in all the institutions of our society to recommit to reviving the pillars of self-government and leadership with integrity and accountability. 

The truth may be uncomfortable, or inconvenient, but telling the truth with candor and clarity is the only antidote to decline — of leadership, of institutions, and of trust itself.

Sean Duffy is a former deputy chief of staff to Gov. Bill Owens and Colorado-based strategic communications consultant. He now serves as vice president at a philanthropic foundation. The views expressed here are his own.