2008 Woodie Awards
Happy days are here again
Jay Donde
Issue date: 5/27/08 Section: Opinion
So the U.S. economy is in the tank, Iran is building nuclear weapons, global warming is killing polar bears and China is beating up Buddhists. How do I feel about all of this?
Well, in the immortal words of Big Gay Al from South Park: "I'm super, thanks for asking!"
Is this just another case of Ignorant Bliss Syndrome? Are you about to find yourself in the middle of another one of those torturous "Hey, things are a lot better now than they were in the Dark Ages" columns? Rest easy, the answer to both of these questions is "no."
Things are looking up because there is an emerging paradigm shift among the views of both domestic and international political leaders regarding how we should go about solving the world's problems.
For nearly eight years, George W. Bush has practiced the doctrine of "cowboy diplomacy," which essentially consists of him drawing a circle in the sand around himself and declaring that everyone inside the circle is good, while everyone outside it is bad.
Unfortunately, the circle is so small that it only has room for Bush and those who are willing to embrace him in a way that would get you kicked out of a 1950s high school prom.
But no matter who enters the Oval Office come January, be it John McCain or Barack Obama (sorry, Senator Clinton), we're going to see significant change. McCain, not Bush, is the true scion of the conservative movement that has thrived in American politics for the past 40 years - one that has done so by building coalitions rather than dividing interests.
And while Obama has less coalition-building experience than McCain, his rhetoric suggests that he is also a man interested in finding common ground with those who disagree with him.
This new "coalitional mindset" will have an impact not just on domestic issues, but international ones as well. Consider for instance, that both of the leading presidential candidates have come out in favor of strong environmental reforms.
Well, in the immortal words of Big Gay Al from South Park: "I'm super, thanks for asking!"
Is this just another case of Ignorant Bliss Syndrome? Are you about to find yourself in the middle of another one of those torturous "Hey, things are a lot better now than they were in the Dark Ages" columns? Rest easy, the answer to both of these questions is "no."
Things are looking up because there is an emerging paradigm shift among the views of both domestic and international political leaders regarding how we should go about solving the world's problems.
For nearly eight years, George W. Bush has practiced the doctrine of "cowboy diplomacy," which essentially consists of him drawing a circle in the sand around himself and declaring that everyone inside the circle is good, while everyone outside it is bad.
Unfortunately, the circle is so small that it only has room for Bush and those who are willing to embrace him in a way that would get you kicked out of a 1950s high school prom.
But no matter who enters the Oval Office come January, be it John McCain or Barack Obama (sorry, Senator Clinton), we're going to see significant change. McCain, not Bush, is the true scion of the conservative movement that has thrived in American politics for the past 40 years - one that has done so by building coalitions rather than dividing interests.
And while Obama has less coalition-building experience than McCain, his rhetoric suggests that he is also a man interested in finding common ground with those who disagree with him.
This new "coalitional mindset" will have an impact not just on domestic issues, but international ones as well. Consider for instance, that both of the leading presidential candidates have come out in favor of strong environmental reforms.
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