Everything's Bigger in Texas
For the past couple of weeks, a few pundits have been wondering what psychological malady is afflicting the 10% of Americans who think our nation is on the right track. They have publicly questioned the motives and sanity of this small majority who's optimism outweighs their reality. Sadly, it seems that everything really is bigger in Texas.
In a recent statewide poll, 34% of Texans approve of President Bush's job performance. Despite two wars, lying to the American public about WMD & Iraq, a collapsed economy, trillions of taxpayer dollars going to Wall Street firms, the an assault on our environment, the return of torture to American policy, the most vile political partisanship in recent history ("I'm a uniter, not a divider"), the politicization of the Supreme Court, our lost leadership on the world stage, failing to understand and support our military, and his general inability to read, spell, or put a coherent sentence together, one-third of Texas believes he's the right guy for the job.
I have lost a lot of faith in the American electorate and our system in general over the past eight years. The nation seems to choose its leaders based on their desire to share a beer rather than their ability to lead the free world. Voting is more about popularity than about the populace. Now one of the most economically vital states in the Union is still convinced that their former drunk-driving, cocaine-snorting, can't-find-oil-in-Texas-or-run-a-baseball-team Governor has done a great job with America.
It is my sincere hope that America soon realizes that blame can only be assigned to its citizens for its failures. We choose those who lead us and if they fail, it is only because we allowed them to. Caring more about Hollywood than Washington can be our undoing.
(And incidentally, this same survey found that 23% of Texans still believe Barack Obama is a Muslim.)
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6084678.html
In a recent statewide poll, 34% of Texans approve of President Bush's job performance. Despite two wars, lying to the American public about WMD & Iraq, a collapsed economy, trillions of taxpayer dollars going to Wall Street firms, the an assault on our environment, the return of torture to American policy, the most vile political partisanship in recent history ("I'm a uniter, not a divider"), the politicization of the Supreme Court, our lost leadership on the world stage, failing to understand and support our military, and his general inability to read, spell, or put a coherent sentence together, one-third of Texas believes he's the right guy for the job.
I have lost a lot of faith in the American electorate and our system in general over the past eight years. The nation seems to choose its leaders based on their desire to share a beer rather than their ability to lead the free world. Voting is more about popularity than about the populace. Now one of the most economically vital states in the Union is still convinced that their former drunk-driving, cocaine-snorting, can't-find-oil-in-Texas-or-run-a-baseball-team Governor has done a great job with America.
It is my sincere hope that America soon realizes that blame can only be assigned to its citizens for its failures. We choose those who lead us and if they fail, it is only because we allowed them to. Caring more about Hollywood than Washington can be our undoing.
(And incidentally, this same survey found that 23% of Texans still believe Barack Obama is a Muslim.)
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6084678.html
posted by Nathan at
11:46
1 Comments:
Over the years you've heard me comment my belief in Alexander Hamilton's theory "The masses are asses." Seeing the election and then reelection of Bush-Cheney confirmed that for me.
I have been witness to 10 presidents in my lifetime. Never in that lifetime have I seen a candidate more suited to the dual role of head of state and head of government than Barrak Obama.
With my formative political years rooted in the Civil Rights Movement of the early 1960's, I see this race as a form of culmination and tears well up.
With my nearly two decades of service in the military I sense the true patriot who cares so deeply for us veterans when I view Obama's passion for our care.
In seeing the destruction of the value of my 401K, I view the calculated greed of deregulation and scheme to privatize wealth at the top and socialize losses for the rest of us.
In seeing the scheme to commit voter suppression and actual vote-fliping, I've seen our democracy at its worst. Indeed the poltization of the Justice Department by Rove et al has partly removed the electorate from the equation of leader selection.
But in the end, you're absolutely correct. We have a duty to turn out at the polls and to turn out in such numbers that would preclude stealing an election. If we don't, we fail as a people and wind up with yet another round of less than mediocre calibre leadership.
While the masses are asses, one can only hope that this time we may get it right.
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