Kevin Drum thinks Americans simply don’t want to move on:
I lean toward the Hillary approach because I think the Obama approach only works when there’s already a real groundswell of support for significant change (as in the 30s, 60s, and 80s, for example) — and as much as I hate to say it, I just don’t see that at the moment.
This is the relevant issue, I think. I wrote:
If you believe that America’s current crisis is not a deep one, if you think that pragmatism alone will be enough to navigate a world on the verge of even more religious warfare, if you believe that today’s ideological polarization is not dangerous, and that what appears dark today is an illusion fostered by the lingering trauma of the Bush presidency, then the argument for Obama is not that strong. Clinton will do.
My own view is that America’s crisis is a very deep one. The markets are reflecting the fact that seven years of Bush have added $32 trillion to future debt, and there is no one able to either raise revenues or slash entitlements to get us back to fiscal sanity. Iraq has shown that America’s imperial burden is becoming greater and greater even as her major rivals, China and Russia, get stronger and stronger. The threat of Jihadism is as salient today as it was in 2001. Climate change is a challenge the political system seems utterly unable to confront. The cultural, racial and religious divisions tearing America apart are as powerful as we allow them to be. Another election campaign that actually deepens this polarization will render it even harder to overcome.
I fear dark times ahead. Which is why I favor McCain and Obama. Both can rally their own supporters while appealing beyond them. We need that unifying potential – not because unity is always a good thing. But because sometimes it’s necessary. Like: now.
The Dish 