I just happened to show up.

First, of course, there was the excitement about Howard Dean. The last time that sort of interest happened to me was John Anderson. He turned up one day in Vermont where I lived and word spread he would be at a particular restaurant at 4 that afternoon. I'd never been to any political event but I wanted to see John Anderson so I went. The place was jammed. I happened to be on the edge of a path they cleared for him when he came in and got to shake his hand. He's a little guy, bristling with energy. Then they stood him up on a chair and he spoke for half an hour or so. I don't remember much except he said he was still in the race. It was a struggle, he said, but the kid in Doonsbury hadn't yet sold is car for more cash.

The room had the usual political hangers-on but the bulk of the crowd was people like myself who had never been to a political event but they put all that aside came to see John Anderson. The people who were attracted to him were all the people who never get involved in politics, probably refuse to tell anyone how they vote, resent the people doing exit polls, and so by extension they had no organization either. I think Howard Dean played well to that same crowd. Dean had the advantage of the internet, of course, which may not have even existed when John Anderson ran. It certainly wasn't the tool it is today.

Someone told me about this Air America network which is supposed to somehow counter Rush Limbaugh and his ilk. I've listened a couple times via the internet (there are no local stations yet) and unfortunately it seems just as vitriolic but on the other side. Not only that, they're preaching to the choir. Who else would listen to them?

I like to think I'm independent but I'm not sure I'm AN independent. Don't care too much for labels. It makes it too easy to categorize people and avoid finding out who they really are.

On the other hand, I check this page every day to see what's going on. Maybe I just have too much time on my hands.

I agree with you there David. Roger said he's a political junkie, but he keeps himself rather aloof, even on the Journo website. I've been spewing my angst at the Oak Leaf, and the bits I submit here are just to see if anyone is interested. I could post my Oak Leaf articles here I guess. there's only so much time at this point of the semester, and I guess if things were hoppin' a little more here, maybe I'd participate. Hope we're not disappointing you. Are you in one of Roger's classes, or are you an independant?

Not exactly a spirited forum here, is it?

Wanna know what's really going on in Iraq? Check this out:

http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewarticl...horID=2591&id=13362

Frankn Rich has really become edgy since the Times movedd him from the editorial page to the arts. I like it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/04/arts/04RICH.html?th

I'm really trying to like Kerry. The lesser of two evils or the only choice? We've gone from Janet Jackson's breast to gay marriage and now the "big thing" in the embryonic presidential race is the price of gasoline. He promises to lower prices at the pump and then get us off of the gasoline habit. I don't quite get the logic there, but there seems to be precious little logic in American leadership these days.

With OPEC finally following through with their threat to cut back production, and with the very real concept of dwindling supplies, how can these people not see the importance of taking our country in a new direction, into the 21st century and not backwards into the 19th century?

Military superiority and arrogance can only keep us on top for so long. There is a very real price that we will eventually have to pay for our insane policies both foreign and domestic.

I could go on and on and on and on, as Roger can tell you from watching me on the journo website. I'm glad to see someone out here, even though it's the same two people from the same choir.

Edited by author 04-01-2004 03:29 PM
Some years ago my wife and I were on a tour to Australia. We were only there a short while. We had a couple days in Sidney and then they took us down to Canberra (which, by the way, is pronounced so it rhymes with "camera") their capitol city. The bus took us up through Embassy Row - grand mansions, one after another, with open gates and flowers blooming in lavish gardens. Then we turned a corner and came to a huge compound with brick walls, spiked fences, guard towers, surveilance cameras, and heavy closed gates.

"What is this?" Someone asked. This, we were told, was the United States embassy.


Oh.


Several minutes passed as we drove clear around the damned thing. It went on and on. Finally and someone asked about the security.

Well, our driver said, he always brings Americans by the our embassy because most Americans have no idea how much our government is hated around the world. (This was in 1993.) Not that we had anything to fear from the Aussies, even though we had all but decimated their sheep/lamb/wool industry through something we'd done, but embassies were targets for anyone who didn't like us. And the reason for this hatred, at least from his perspective, was that when something didn't suit us, our solution was to send in the jets and the napalm to straighten things out.

Now, he said, having said all that, given a choice he would have Yanks on his bus 7 days a week because of all the people in the world we are the only people he can speak to this frankly about our own government.

So I agree. People are our level almost always get along famously. It's only when we let someone represent our "interests" that we get in trouble.

Our trip to Australia and New Zealand was very pleasant. People DO like us. The same was true a few years later when I went to Turkey. Very open, friendly people - at least the ones I met.

I remember reading one time that someone had asked Albert Einstein who he would send to represent us if we should be invaded by someone from outer space. His answer: a little girl between 7 and 10 years old.

In my travels I've found that people around the world really, really want to love the United States. And during the Clinton Administration they did, because Clinton treated others with respect. Some foreigners have suggested that they too should be allowed to vote for the U.S. president because the presidency affects them greatly. Well, that's certainly NOT going to happen. But if there were an elected "president of the world," Bill Clinton would have won it handily -- and probably still would.

So, David, I don't despair at all about the U.S.'s ability to regain world respect under a Kerry presidency. And the lack of money won't be important, imo, because what is at issue isn't money, it's mutual respect.

On the other hand, I believe another four years of Bush will be so ruinous to the country, politically and economically, that I am filled with despair at the thought of it. And I resent like hell that little states with a population approximating that of Sonoma County will get three crucial electoral votes.

Edited by author 03-29-2004 09:32 AM
Well, I don't know...

I keep hoping Bush & Co. will self destruct. It all seems so clear to me I can't imagine that people still believe in them and what they do and stand for. And the fact that there are a lot of people who see this as some sort of crusade to make the world RIGHT completely baffles me and doesn't give me a lot of hope.

Having grown up in a small New England town I got a full dose of "foreigners are strange and unpredictable and should be watched at all times" but there was never any notion that they should be taken over and set right. I don't know where that comes from but it must have some connection to wealth, power, connections, and influence none of which have ever been available to me.

One day we'll no longer have the resources to buy friends around the world. Then what? Will it be too late to simply be nice guys?

If Kerry wins, will anyone be able to trust him and believe we're not the Same Old United States? Will he have any money to continue our "friendhships" or will Bush have spent it all? People who are good at holding grudges really don't care who's in charge when they finally get a chance to take a shot at us. In an age of CNN live coverage of just about everything, who can even concieve of waiting for 15 - 20 years for an opportunity to extract revenge?

So lets assume we rid the White House of its current evil. Will that be enough or have they so damaged our image and reputation around the world that no one can restore it?

Excellent article. Thanks David. Nice to have some company here, as I wander through the corridors in my fathers pajamas and slippers. (Don't ask, it's too complicated to explain here)

Another link - an interview with a couple retired folks. He used to work for Kennedy. Always intersting to here from people with perspective.

http://www.keenesentinel.com/localnews/story2.htm

I don't know whether the contents of this like remain or if they change, but on Saturday it was an interesting interview.

Heya David,
Have you ever read the New Hampshire Gazzette? Great leftist rag and purported to be the Nation's Oldest Newspaper. Well worth the twenty-two or so dollars to subscribe.

As long as we're sharing links.

http://www.keenesentinel.com/localnews/editorial.htm

The content of this page changes every day but I know the guy who writes most of these editorials. Keene and southwest New Hampshire are in the most liberal corner of the state, quite a feat considering the hard core conservative nature of the Union Leader in Manchester.

The pieces are well thought out and often included some amusing twists and connections. Try it out.

Krugman tells it like it is:

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/19/opinion/19KRUG.html?th