Proud of the USA?

 

 

On Feb 19, CNN posted an article that pits Cindy McCain against Michelle Obama. Ms Obama had on the previous day (President’s Day) said says that not until this election did she feel pride in the USA.

She really did! Here’s the actual video.

CNN’s political blog picked up the story of Cindy McCain responding that she’s been proud of her country for a long time.

On one level, it’s two wives supporting their husbands in a future tough political race. But I have to agree with Ms McCain. It’s hard to believe that Ms Obama doesn’t have faith in the American people.

Our government liberated the nation of Panama. Our government has been the first on the scene to show up to countless disasters, from mudslides to hurricanes to wildfires to tsunamis.

It was not the US government that failed in New Orleans during Katrina. FEMA and the various sanctioned relief agencies were prepositioned at the storm’s edge and on-site within a day. Mississippi, Alabama, Texas and other parts of Louisiana are well on their way to recovery. But the inept management of local New Orleans politicians made sure the losses (both property and human life) were larger than need be. It was not the fault of the government, but rather those who failed to exercise personal responsibility.

Do I agree with everything my government does? Of course not. Am I proud of it? Most of the time. It is still the number one immigration destination in the world.

For Michelle Obama to be ashamed of her country means her husband has not been leading her sufficiently to value the nation he stands a chance of running.

And that scares me.

(for the record, CNN’s blog stopped accepting comments when the total reached 371.)

Not yet…

The anti-inclusionist rules of the Republican party, with “winner take all states” (even though the November election is “winner take all congressional districts“), mean that although Gov Huckabee consistently pulls a third of the vote despite overwhelming media pressure against him.

But even with tonite’s wins, McCain will not have the nomination until at least mid-March, or later.  Even if he wins all the votes on “mini-Tuesday” (March 4), he will still be 17 votes short.  But it’s unlikely McCain can take Texas.

In reality, the only way for Huckabee to NOT survive the next two weeks is to drop out. Unless McCain stays strong for the next 2 weeks, he begins to look vulnerable. No wonder the party leadership is trotting out all the old staples to try to prop him up.

Post-modernist Politics

Back in November, a blog called “Beyond the Theoretical” reviewed an article by Robert Novak that blasted Mike Huckabee as a closet liberal because he wasn’t greedy enough.  BTT’s take is that “This establishment has won tactical elections over the years, but has consistently lost the strategic battle for the direction of the country as we have slipped further into cultural despair.  Conservative citizens should step back and assess how the GOP power structure has done.  Do you want to stay with the current game plan, the current pooh-bahs, the current message?”

This is an enlightening perspective.  I had not quite made the connection between the post-modernist radical individualism and the emerging political environment.  The establishment Republicans are stuck in the modernist movement, believing they can win by yelling loud enough that they are right, instead of doing things that matter. 

The old norms of community are gone.  The heterogeneous neighborhood and the unblinking national allegiance is gone.  But the radical individualism of the 80s and 90s are already changing, as the post-millenial youth of today tend to flock ever more.  They are the most social of generations since the beginning of modern urbanism. 

“Beyond the Theoretical” is correct that Huckabee understands the emptiness of growth for the sake of growth – growth to satisfy personal greed.  Growth should not be the end goal, but the byproduct of actions that customers value.  This is the basis of the emerging model of social capitalism. 

(It’s the same on the Democratic side, too.  Clinton is old school, doing old methods and is baffled why they don’t work.  Obama is new method, and just might win the brass ring.)