Reich on Obamania and Clinton's Persistence

I suggest reading the whole post, it's not long. But here's how it ends:

The sad news is that whether the Clinton scorched-earth strategy ultimately succeeds or fails, it will have caused great harm. In the unlikely event it succeeds, the result will be a shame and not a little ironic. Barack Obama has breathed life into the Democratic Party, and into American politics, for the first time in forty years. Not since Robert Kennedy ran for president has America been so starkly summoned to its ideals; not since then has America -- including, especially, the nation's youth -- been so inspired. The Clintons would prefer to write off Obamania as a passing fad, but the reality is that idealism and inspiration are necessary preconditions for positive social change. Nothing happens in Washington unless Americans are energized and mobilized to make it happen. HRC's tactics are the old politics the nation is recoiling from -- internal division and national fear. This only serves to deepen Americans' cynicism about politics, and makes social change all the harder to achieve.

Robert Reich is the guy I wished had become governor instead of Mitt Romney, but he didn't make it past the primaries. He was Bill Clinton's Secretary of Labor and a really smart cookie on economics.


Technorati : , , ,

4 comments:

Julie said...

Aw, the things I missed out on when I lived outside Massachusetts! I thought everybody *loved* cookies.

Julie said...

BTW, was Reich the guy who told either Stewart or Colbert the other night that he'd prefer a chocolate bunny in his Easter basket than a marshmallow Peep?

JP Burke said...

He was on one of those shows the other night, but I don't remember which one. And I don't remember that particular question. He did get asked some weird questions, though.

Julie said...

OK, that was the one. He was asked a lot of weird questions which he declined to answer. The one about the Easter basket was the last, and just before signing off, Reich said either "just for the record" or "off the record"... he would prefer the chocolate bunny.

I'm glad he didn't say he'd prefer one of those chocolate-covered marshmallow bunnies!