REWahoo
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give
Newsweek's Robert J. Samuelson says Pogo was right: “We have seen the enemy and it is us.”
“The problem of American democracy is (of course) democracy. We are on the cusp of an election that commentators have already imbued with vast significance if Democrats recapture part or all of Congress—or if they don't. But here's something that no one's saying: regardless of who wins, it won't make much difference for most of our pressing problems. We won't have a major new budget policy, energy policy or immigration policy. The election might not even much affect the Iraq war….
…our politicians are slaves to public opinion. Superficially, this should be reassuring. Democracy is working, because public attitudes remain the dominant influence—not "big money" or "special interests," as many believe.
But it is not reassuring. The trouble is that public opinion is often ignorant, confused and contradictory; and so the policies it produces are often ignorant, confused and contradictory—which means they're ineffective...
... Throwing the bums out is a venerable tradition, but what if the ultimate bums are us?"
“The problem of American democracy is (of course) democracy. We are on the cusp of an election that commentators have already imbued with vast significance if Democrats recapture part or all of Congress—or if they don't. But here's something that no one's saying: regardless of who wins, it won't make much difference for most of our pressing problems. We won't have a major new budget policy, energy policy or immigration policy. The election might not even much affect the Iraq war….
…our politicians are slaves to public opinion. Superficially, this should be reassuring. Democracy is working, because public attitudes remain the dominant influence—not "big money" or "special interests," as many believe.
But it is not reassuring. The trouble is that public opinion is often ignorant, confused and contradictory; and so the policies it produces are often ignorant, confused and contradictory—which means they're ineffective...
... Throwing the bums out is a venerable tradition, but what if the ultimate bums are us?"
