The Talking Heads of American politics screech at a fever pitch. Each day brings more consternation at the Trump's outrageous declarations or the Ted Cruz sanctimony regarding God's presence right at his side. Fear not! Tom Wolfe called the sideshow of modern American life a "lurid carnival." He loved having a front row seat, as we all do, to the daily going-on of life in these United States.
The intense partisanship began in the era of Bill Clinton. A real self-made man, Bill rose from near trailer trash upbringing to a place in the Oval Office. Bill, disdained as "Slick Willie" by people resentful of his amazing rise to power. But Bill took the necessary steps-- several stints as governor of Arkansas, including a defeat in one of his runs for state office. The Comeback Kid had a predilection for hanky-panky and adultery. Somehow he survived those Achilles Heel character flaws and governed the nation with no small skill. He paid heed to Republican concerns for not giving handouts to the perennial welfare recipients. He and Hillary failed to enact health care reform. Otherwise he did well, handing a balanced budget and surplus off to George W. Bush. Then came 9/11 and economic catastrophe.
Al Gore chose not to run on the Clinton record. Al proved inept in his handling of the 2000 Election standoff with George W. Bush. Bush showed skill in his patience regarding the vote count and won the job. George W's disasters, so extreme and thorough, may have opened the door to the arrival of a first African-American president. Way to go George! The electorate, particularly the right wing, chooses to ignore the level of mess inherited by Barack Obama. Mr. Obama, they assert, has made a terrible mess of things. Really? Did they sleep through 2008 and the economic meltdown.
Things have been worse-- and it was not so long ago. "History is a thing of the past," as Marshall McLuhan predicted. Electronic communication has stunted our recall for anything beyond yesterday, or maybe as far back as 5 days ago. So the carnival rolls along... and the pundits scream.
There is lots of fun to be had in the Trump rise to prominence. Trump understands the new electronic environment better than the others. Political parties are dead. Backroom deals in smoke-filled rooms are gone forever. Now the whole thing is played for us, front and center on the television screen.
The fear we must all harbor-- does the Reality Show disintegrate in front of our eyes. "You're fired!" is the phrase we don't want to hear. Who gets hired? Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, a socialist Bernie Sanders in the land of free enterprise!? The ratings all rise, until they fall. Meanwhile the band plays on.
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