This is the first in what will be (hopefully) a weekly series of probably 20 or so posts that revisit/expand a collection of posts I originally made on my old Livejournal, and which have been a static set of pages on this site for a couple of years. With the 2008 primaries almost upon us, I thought it was time to get off my duff and do the updates I’ve been meaning to do…
One thing that has struck me during the 2007 warm-ups to the 2008 Presidential campaign season is that we have a bunch of problem-solvers running this cycle. In addition to all the reporting on dirty tricks or misleading advertising, and all the handicapping based on the polls of the day, the political news seems to be full of this or that candidate talking about the many problems America has, how they feel Americans’ pain, and how they’ll fix those problems or (in true political fashion) promising to assemble a committee to work on it.
While it’s true that there are many issues that merit attention in the country today, such relative narrow-minded focus seems extremely short-sighted to me.
I’d love to hear a candidate paint a picture and capture Americans’ imaginations with a challenging, yet realistic vision of what they want to see the country and the world become in the next decade or three.
JFK was able to challenge Americans to work together through some difficult times, and at least briefly create a culture of community as well as a concerted effort by science, government, and industry to advance the Space Race.
Reagan was able to sell Americans on the idea that in spite of an unsettled world and economic challenges at home, the core of America was strong and there was reason to be optimistic about the future.
Even Clinton was able to capitalize on the concept of the torch passing to a new generation, fueling excitement for the future.
While I admit that early campaigning and primary season is not the time to expect vision to be communicated to the public… I don’t seem to recall having heard anything like it from any viable candidate. (I think some of Kucinich’s message counts as vision, but I wouldn’t consider that message to be realistic, or his candidacy to be viable.)
So, over the next 10½ months, that’s one thing I plan to keep an ear out for — a vision for the future. And, I pray that for at least part of the campaign, the mainstream media consider setting aside the comparisons of checklists of problems and comparisons of the candidates’ political doublespeak on how they’re going to most likely sidestep those issues, and get into a discussion of what their visions are of what America should be.
Once you have a good picture of where you’re going, it becomes a lot easier to figure out how you’re going to get there.
