"The enemy is not conservatism. The enemy is not liberalism. The enemy is bull."
- Lars-Erik Nelson (1941-2000), American journalist
In a Los Angeles Times opinion column (brief registration required), David Gelernter suggests that John Edwards' life clashes with his campaign message:
"...I can't believe the public is going to buy this act. Last week, I heard an admiring TV pundit explain, to general agreement from his fellows, that Edwards' 'two Americas speech' is his No. 1 asset, followed closely by his self-made-man, up-from-the-working-class life story. The problem is, they cancel each other out."
Gelernter says that Edwards' message that our country is divided by some sort of economic barricade is political guff. Economic historians tell us that American society is constantly moving from poor to middle class to well-off to rich, and this country provides myriad opportunities for almost anyone to realize the "American dream" if they are willing to make the effort. John Edwards himself is a great example:
"More important to the campaign: Edwards' life story shows that his message is false. If your story is 'poor boy makes good,' your message can't possibly be 'this is a two-part nation where poor boys are prevented from making good.' Exactly how dumb are the voters supposed to be?"
Mr. Gelernter continues:
"Edwards' whole campaign shtick suggests he's a regular guy, just plain folks, a slob like us. So if he got over this barricade...why can't anyone who really wants to? Answer: Anyone can, and everyone knows it. Edwards' story says so loud and clear. This is still the land of opportunity, where a talented working-class boy can grow up to be stinking rich and even be a candidate for vice-president."
There's more. Read the whole thing and consider Gelernter's suggestion that Edwards take his campaign message and really do something with it by being straight up with American voters. Can political discourse ever evolve to really "telling it like it is?" I doubt it. I believe that most politicians would view attempts at such honesty as the kiss of death. The American people may be ready for it, but until the candidates believe they are it will never happen.
Update: Some of you have written and told me you're having trouble getting the link to David Gelernter's article to work. I've checked the URL and it's correct. Sometimes going outside the journal entry and typing it into your browser will get you there. Here's the story title and address: "Edwards' Life Clashes With Campaign Message" http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-op-gelernter11jul11,1,4514197.story . Good luck.
1 comment:
David Gelernter puts together several fallacious points to make an obtuse thesis. To quote the wikipedia's entry on social mobility: "A common error when discussing social mobility is to focus on a few exemplary cases while neglecting the average cases. The fact that a few people who were originally poor have become very rich does not prove that the society, in general, enjoys social mobility. They might just be exceptions." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_mobility)
Just because Edwards can make the leap from millworker's son to multi-millionaire doesn't mean anyone can do it, esp. now. The things that made Edwards's upward mobility possible in the '70's and '80's are slipping out of reach. Manufacturing jobs are disappearing -- replaced by low wage jobs with no benefits. Rising tuition rates and decreasing college loan programs (http://www.suntimes.com/output/jesse/cst-edt-jesse13.html) are putting college education out of reach of poor and middle-class Americans.
And all you have to do is take a good look around to see that their are "two Americas." (http://journals.aol.com/fdtate313/ProgressiveMusings/entries/418)
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