What the “real” issue in November will be …
Not all of the time — but more times than most — the author/columnist Tom Friedman opens a window of clarity. Having followed his writings for sometime and knowing what a believer he is in American innovation and grit, snoety was doubly attentive while reading this New York Times column:
In “Anxious In America,”* Friedman talks about how the consensus view only a few months ago was that each Presidential candidate would need to choose a running mate that compensated for something they lacked — for Obama a “hard-core national security type” and for McCain someone “young and sprightly.” Now he says that’s all changed. He predicts that “both men will be looking for a financial wizard … to help them steer America out of what could become a serious economic tailspin.”**
As Friedman outlines the facts and statistics behind our deepening economic crisis, he says: “I do not believe nation-building in Iraq is going to the the issue come November — whether things get better there or worse … I think nation-building in America is going to be the issue … The straws in the wind are hard to ignore.
“My fellow Americans: We are a country in debt and in decline — not terminal, not irreversible, but in decline. Our political system seems incapable of producing long-range answers to big problems or big opportunities. We are the ones who need a better-functioning democracy — more than the Iraqis and Afghans. We are the ones in need of nation-building. It is our political system that is not working.”
“We used to try harder and do better. After Sputnik, we came together as a nation and responded with a technology, infrastructure and education surge … After the 1973 oil crisis, we came together and made dramatic improvements in energy efficiency. After Social Security became imperiled…we came together and fixed it for that moment …”
“We’re at a 34-year low. And digging out of that hole is what the next election has to be about and is going to be about … We need nation-building at home, and we cannot wait another year to get started. Vote for the candidate who you think will do that best. Nothing else matters.”
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* The New York Times, Sunday Opinion, “Anxious in America, Sunday, June 29, 1008, pg 10 of “Week in Review” section
** SNOETY ASKS:
If we’re thinking along the lines of someone who understands economic issues:
- Who do you think would be a good choice?
- Do you think New York’s Mayor Bloomberg would go Republican or Democratic? .Would he take the second spot to anyone at all? And, could an African-American (who 10% of Americans think is a Muslim) and a Jew share the same ticket and get elected?
