[In response to http://www.usnews.com/opinion/mzuckerman/articles/2012/01/06/mort-zuckerman-we-must-reignite-americas-can-do-spirit]
Mort is a wordy guy for just this: we need a president who "will try anything consistent with our values that restores our national belief in ourselves". I shouldn't talk about wordiness, but this is an example of an extreme. From the point of view of good writing, he could have supported this conclusion in about half as much, if that. Oh, I recognize that we are not here to talk about writing and style, but for such a lame conclusion about the kind of president(?) we need, he could have wasted less of our time, AND focused more on all those obstructionists and unthinking hubrists in government and society who have taken us off an original, pretty good course. (Contrary to popular practice, we do not need to be supersized in everything from meals to wheels.)
Oh, for the good old days. Fact is back then we had other just as weighty issues to contend with and we somehow muddled through as much because we had to as for some can-do hocus. Invocation of Churchill was the right note, however, to strike, if I may be allowed to mix my metaphors.
Isn't the conclusion really that we need leadership at least at the national level with balls? as well as a citizenry that won't stand for anything less? Yes, embedded in Mort's "evidence" are concrete steps towards building that self confidence or whatever it is we seem to have lost. But I don't think that pessimism or some deficiency in some immeasurable public attitude really is the issue. At issue is America's survival and thrival as a credible and worthy world citizen. For that we have to go back to work--you are right--spend some money, collect some money, tighten our belts, consume less and conserve/preserve more and . . . walk the walk. What are the concrete things to be done to achieve that? Feeling good will follow as will some milktoast can-do trait Mort seems unable to find right now.
Mort, this is a first draft. Go back and give us a more concise thesis and some meaty bullet points to communicate to our candidates. Then let's see what they say and have an election. If they behave like the GOP field has done all these many months so far, we will get Obama again, and we should then sing like Janis Joplin and Nike, nothing left to lose so let's just do it. Can-do by popular default, if Obama doesn't choose otherwise, or have the you know whats. Better than spinning ourselves for another couple of decades until the eventual bump on the head or skinned knees brings us to our new reality.
