Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Reduxing the Zeitgeist

Movies, even mediocre ones, are being remade with greater frequency as our culture demands "new" entertainment without new ideas. We're no different politically.

As Iran unconscionably replaces Iraq in our warspeak, the nation prepares to replace a Bush with a Clinton again. I believe this will be a national mistake, not because she isn't qualified, but because she will merely employ the same old executive ideas (and their expert spin-sters) we've suffered through for a generation. She's essentially a Reagan Democrat, recently a Jesus-freak lite, all for big money and lobbying and executive power and free market solutions. She galvanizes the opposition because she is too like them for their own power-loving comfort.

Certainly she will mollify some on the left with standard centrist positions, but she'll take what she can get from W's excesses. She'll come back 50 steps from his 100 steps into crazy and consolidate power in the executive branch. She'll do better than W, but not necessarily different when it comes to power. She'll crony and spin. Support for the third Bush will crystallize around what will become hatred of all things Hillary, as the conservative hounds will bay mercilessly after the old Clinton scent. As much as I'd love voting for a woman to be president, I believe a vote for Hillary in '08 will result in President Jeb in '12. I hope I'm wrong.

We need new ideas, not yet another Poseidon Adventure.

3 comments:

John Guzlowski said...

She will "crony and spin." As will Edwards and Obama, as will McCain and Thompson.

I can't remember the last time there was a president who I felt as good about at the end as I did at the beginning.

Bush?

Bill Clinton?

Reagan?

Carter?

Ford?

Nixon?

Johnson?

Kennedy?

Eisenhower?

Truman?

(Maybe Eisenhower. But I was a baby.)

Maybe we should accept the snake side (the human side?) of all our politicians, and not expect so much.

I mean George W. Bush, for all his faults, did keep us out of Vietnam.

Marty said...

You're right, and I didn't mention any alternative because of that. My views are closest to Kucinich's probably. If I put my political cap on (extra large, extra empty, but damn extravagant), I'd probably say Gore would be the best choice. He already has an academy award and doesn't need the office to define himself the way many of these clowns do. And if Jeb tried to take him, we'd at least have an interesting sumo wrestling match to look forward to.

Urkat said...

There's got to be a morning after--pill.haha. I think John's right. When people are unhappy about something, it's often their expectations to blame. I'm voting for Bill Richardson, writing him in if necessary. He may not be a woman, but close enough for government work.