Somebody noted, about Mark Warner's "
why I am a Democrat" speech, that they didn't think that any of the great achievments he cites had happened in recent decades. It strikes me that this ought to be something people around here appreciate.
Think about it -- if you don't like the DLC triangulation strategy that Clinton used; if you think HillaryCare was stupid, that the Dems should've pushed hard, immediately, for Single Payer; then you most likely think that FDR, JFK, and LBJ had a vision of America far superior to Bill Clinton's.
For all the heat that Warner takes over having associated with the DLC, here he is citing the achievments of pre-DLC presidents as truly great. I agree with him. I think Bill Clinton was a supremely competent president. He was highly effective at solving problems. He understood the terrorist threat far better than Maximum Leader ever will, and he kept the bureaucrats working hard on that problem and others. But he wasn't great. He didn't alter our culture or change our entire worldview.
The best candidates we have on offer today -- think of your own favorite -- are trying to tap into the disaffection felt at the political center, so they can use it to enact transformative changes. Because that's what's needed. Triangulation, and incremental gains, won't cut it anymore. To deal with global warming, religious extremism (among Christians, as well as Muslims), and the challenges to our economy posted by globalization and decaying public schools, we need a president who has the vision to run a reality-based, future-driven policy, and the charisma to sell it to the vast majority of Americans. That's greatness.
It's funny that probably the president who had the clearest vision, and the most charisma, was much less effective than his less-charismatic predecessor. I'm thinking, of course, of JFK, who changed our culture in a way that allowed LBJ to push through Civil Rights and the Great Society.
I'd put up a poll asking which candidates people think have the qualities that make for a great president, except the poll system, as far as I can tell, only allows radio-buttons, and I'd need checkboxes. (I'm an Approval Voting advocate, after all.)
So, just post about it: Who do you think can get through to those alienated by the current political process?