What I don't understand, however, is how we got to this point. Our nation has long been center-right politically and I have not sensed a great leftward shift of the political ethos unless the traditional left-wing slant of the media now accurately reflects the views of the majority of Americans. I think not so how to explain the numerous polls showing Obama over McCain, with leads ranging from a few points to well into the double-digits? The estimable Roger Kimball is scratching his head over that, as do I. Kimball writes:
If the pundits are to be believed, the American people are just about to elect as President a man who espouses in concentrated form just about every bad, discredited, and exploded social and economic idea of the last fifty years.Yet Americans are overwhelmingly opposed to income redistribution. So what gives? It just does not seem plausible the people's dissatisfaction with John McCain, not to mention the president and Republicans in general, is so intense they would line up behind a candidate who is the re-incarnation of Eugene Debs. Is it possible so many polls could be so out of whack, that there is some fatal flaw to their design that skews the results? Is it possible the polls are wrong?
[snip]
In other words, Obama plans to resuscitate the welfare policies of the Great Society, but by stealth. It will be the same thing–the dole–but it will be called a “tax credit,” which has a more emollient sound than “relief,” “public charity,” “the dole.”
UPDATE: Others are wondering the same but I am not optimistic.
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