Because while the situation is dire, and the deficit/war/regulatory mess all place enormous burdens and challenges on the future administration, in the end it's all about the confidence and will of the people. And one thing Americans have going for them more than anyone else is the ability to mobilize emotionally. George Bush mobilized them to be militarily patriotic, with devastating effects, but Obama just may be able to mobilize them to be great again. We live in interesting times.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Economic Doom and Gloom: The Light
The US is in a right mess. I would be extremely pessimistic about the next few years, but for one thing: Obama. As any regular readers will know, I am not a great fan of Obama (he seems a bit too hawkish and a bit too right and a bit too same-old US imperialism to me) but... big but... he's so charismatic that I think he may just be able to lift up Americans and get them out of this enormous hole.
Because while the situation is dire, and the deficit/war/regulatory mess all place enormous burdens and challenges on the future administration, in the end it's all about the confidence and will of the people. And one thing Americans have going for them more than anyone else is the ability to mobilize emotionally. George Bush mobilized them to be militarily patriotic, with devastating effects, but Obama just may be able to mobilize them to be great again. We live in interesting times.
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Because while the situation is dire, and the deficit/war/regulatory mess all place enormous burdens and challenges on the future administration, in the end it's all about the confidence and will of the people. And one thing Americans have going for them more than anyone else is the ability to mobilize emotionally. George Bush mobilized them to be militarily patriotic, with devastating effects, but Obama just may be able to mobilize them to be great again. We live in interesting times.
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3 comments:
I am not a great fan of Obama (he seems a bit too hawkish and a bit too right and a bit too same-old US imperialism to me
Obama is too right & hawkish ??!! You've GOT to be kidding.
Hi Bert,
Nope, I think Obama is a pretty straightforward American imperialist, quite right and hawkish. The only president in my lifetime who wasn't is Jimmy Carter, and he was vilified for it.
That reminds me... a few months ago I saw Diane Francis on TV (she's a Canadian Conservative) and she said she thought the Canadian Conservative party was to the left of the US Democrats. I filed that away under "Hunh?" but she may be right... I'd need to know what kind of things she was thinking of. "Left" and "right" are such broad, almost useless, terms.
Interesting statement you make re: Obama being an imperialist. My knee jerk reaction is to disagree, however, with a little thought I can quite easily change my own mind. In this age of globalization, I think it is safe to say that the leader of every nation has, to some extent, imperialist ambitions. As a result, when I see Obama gearing up to replace Bush, my primary response is one of comparative relief. This relief, I suppose, clouds my disdain for the general trend of world politics.
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