A 2008 Democratic primary ad for Hillary Clinton’s campaign questioned Obama’s ability to respond to a crisis. Now there is oneÑand that ad turns out to be prescient.
Three Years Later, the Phone is Ringing
Ted Rall
Ted Rall is a syndicated political cartoonist for Andrews McMeel Syndication and WhoWhatWhy.org and Counterpoint. He is a contributor to Centerclip and co-host of "The Final Countdown" talk show on Radio Sputnik. He is a graphic novelist and author of many books of art and prose, and an occasional war correspondent. He is, recently, the author of the graphic novel "2024: Revisited."
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The only thing I would disagree with here is that our children are safe. They really aren’t, at least by any sort of big picture consideration of their safety.
I’d say there are more people sleeping at the wheel than paying attention as the current chapter of the ongoing crisis unfolds. If tens of thousands can be stirred to action on the streets of Madison, Wis. because they feel they are getting screwed, then it should be possible for cities across the country to protest what many (mostly non-millionaires) feel is an ineffectual government that doesn’t have their best interests at heart.
It’s possible, sure, but I’m not surprised that people aren’t turning out for traditional protests. Look at what happened in Wisconsin. The turnout was impressive, and the commitment level was high, yet the people allowed the governor to get away with gutting unions and collective bargaining. They just went home. Those kind of 1980s-style protests will never work, and people know it. I don’t blame people for sitting those out.
Who knows ? Will counterparts to the demonstrations seen under so-called «Arab Spring» – or, in the event, the «London riots» – be seen in the US ? It looks to me as if, at present, the «Tea Party» movement is absorbing a lot of frustration and anger in that country and preventing it from being directed at those responsible for the debacle, but what happens when continued economic turbulence finally forces people to realise that more fundamental changes in political and economic structures than can be attained by voting for persons like Michele Bachmann are necessary ? We live in interesting times – I just hope that the big (i e, thermonuclear) bombs don’t start dropping….
Henri