Divided We Stumble
For reasons historians will be dealing with for the next century, the nation is severely divided. The war, race, economic inequality -- these are the primary dividing forces, but regardless of the cause, the fact remains: we are two nations, a Red and a Blue. I'm writing today -- and you are reading -- a proposal to mend the rift.
Simply it is this. Both of the major political parties should nominate the same candidates for the highest offices in the land. The parties should meet in joint caucus and they should nominate two candidates; we'll call them Jones and Smith. The election in 2008 would still contain two slates, one having Smith as President, the other, Jones. It would thus be preferable, but not necessary, for one of the candidates to come from each party.
Prior to the caucus the current contenders for the nomination should each make a public statement withdrawing their names from consideration and endorsing the caucus. In my opinion, all of the Democratic Party's major candidates possess divisive images. Mrs. Clinton will never be accepted by the right wing of the Republican Party nor by the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. If she were elected president, the nation would not only remain divided, but would perhaps find its differences even further accentuated. Mr. Obama, while an obviously attractive candidate, predictably will not heal the racial animosities that still prevail in the south and in many parts of the mid-west. John Edwards campaigned in 2004 on one issue, economic inequality. It is not likely that he can, with that one issue riding squarely on his shoulders, heal the nation.
Apart from Mayor Giuliani and Senator McCain I am not as familiar with the Republican candidates as I am with the Democratic. But it appears that Mr. Giuliani has, by his stand on certain hot-button issues, angered significant elements within his own party. It is not likely that his would be a healing administration. John McCain has, for what appear to be political reasons, sacrificed his natural persona as a straight-shooting centrist. Perhaps, if he would come to his senses and return to his authentic self, Senator McCain might be a candidate who could bring the nation together.
For absolutely impersonal reasons, I incline toward people resembling the junior Senator from Virginia, Jim Webb, as the ideal candidate for higher office. If we are to bring the nation together again we need leaders who have at least some appeal to partisans on both sides of the divide. Jim Webb was, in my opinion, a better Republican than the man he defeated in his race for the Senate, and a better Democrat than those who court support among their party's idealistic sub-groups. He is, in a word, a Republicrat, the sort of candidate the bi-partisan caucus ought to be seeking. But I will say no more about that.
Finally, it's not only this nation that needs reunification. The world itself is divided, and dangerously so. Humankind seems to be choosing up sides for the next "war to end all wars," a slogan that, unfortunately, may in this case be appropriate, since none of us may survive to fight the next war. The United States, despite its most recent history, remains the only world power that could conceivably calm the troubled waters stirred by terrorists and fanatical religionists of every stripe. A reunited America, committed to a new purpose, might very well emerge as a healing balm.
Of course, my recommendation is impractical, requiring too many leopards to change their spots. But as a wise man once wrote, "All great things are as difficult as they are noble." We shall see.
Simply it is this. Both of the major political parties should nominate the same candidates for the highest offices in the land. The parties should meet in joint caucus and they should nominate two candidates; we'll call them Jones and Smith. The election in 2008 would still contain two slates, one having Smith as President, the other, Jones. It would thus be preferable, but not necessary, for one of the candidates to come from each party.
Prior to the caucus the current contenders for the nomination should each make a public statement withdrawing their names from consideration and endorsing the caucus. In my opinion, all of the Democratic Party's major candidates possess divisive images. Mrs. Clinton will never be accepted by the right wing of the Republican Party nor by the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. If she were elected president, the nation would not only remain divided, but would perhaps find its differences even further accentuated. Mr. Obama, while an obviously attractive candidate, predictably will not heal the racial animosities that still prevail in the south and in many parts of the mid-west. John Edwards campaigned in 2004 on one issue, economic inequality. It is not likely that he can, with that one issue riding squarely on his shoulders, heal the nation.
Apart from Mayor Giuliani and Senator McCain I am not as familiar with the Republican candidates as I am with the Democratic. But it appears that Mr. Giuliani has, by his stand on certain hot-button issues, angered significant elements within his own party. It is not likely that his would be a healing administration. John McCain has, for what appear to be political reasons, sacrificed his natural persona as a straight-shooting centrist. Perhaps, if he would come to his senses and return to his authentic self, Senator McCain might be a candidate who could bring the nation together.
For absolutely impersonal reasons, I incline toward people resembling the junior Senator from Virginia, Jim Webb, as the ideal candidate for higher office. If we are to bring the nation together again we need leaders who have at least some appeal to partisans on both sides of the divide. Jim Webb was, in my opinion, a better Republican than the man he defeated in his race for the Senate, and a better Democrat than those who court support among their party's idealistic sub-groups. He is, in a word, a Republicrat, the sort of candidate the bi-partisan caucus ought to be seeking. But I will say no more about that.
Finally, it's not only this nation that needs reunification. The world itself is divided, and dangerously so. Humankind seems to be choosing up sides for the next "war to end all wars," a slogan that, unfortunately, may in this case be appropriate, since none of us may survive to fight the next war. The United States, despite its most recent history, remains the only world power that could conceivably calm the troubled waters stirred by terrorists and fanatical religionists of every stripe. A reunited America, committed to a new purpose, might very well emerge as a healing balm.
Of course, my recommendation is impractical, requiring too many leopards to change their spots. But as a wise man once wrote, "All great things are as difficult as they are noble." We shall see.
posted by Benedict S. at 11:14 AM
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