Nixon Land

I'm a political junkie. Kind of woke up in years of rage, crushed dreams, and bullets. My political heroes seemed to always crash and burn. As a kid I can remember JFK's funeral. Remember Oswald and Ruby. Wasn't sure what happened, or why, but knew that it was really bad and sad.

Later I was much more aware of RFK - his double-barreled crusade to help the poor and end the war in Vietnam were my touchstones. When he died in a hail of bullets it was like a family member had passed. I can still hear my mother's scream of horror and pain, as we heard on the car radio that Bobby had been killed - she was driving me to school the morning after the California primary. I can hear Robert's voice today, and the tears will well in my eyes. I have always been a political "idealist" which really sets me up for disappointment.

I learned a lot about politics from writers like Norman Mailer, Hunter S. Thompson, Mike Royko. I grew up with Richard (Boss) Daley. I've always been amazed at how the way I see the world is not reflected in other's eyes.

Probably the most influential political personality that helped form my political psyche is Richard Nixon. He was the nemesis, the arch-enemy, the prime example that told me I didn't know anything about politics. Nixon was elected President twice. The second time in a landslide against a really good man, George McGovern.

Rick Perlstein reminds us that really we do live in NIXONLAND. It's a land of culture war, division, resentment. The successful politicians in this land do not bring people together, instead, they conquer and divide. It has worked for years and years. Clinton was an exception, but the man had to pretend he was something he wasn't much of the time. And it kind of caught up to him.

Maybe it will work again. The lies are coming fast and furious. I hope not. It's seems it is always easier to sell cynicism and division as opposed to hope and solidarity. When you buy "hope" you have to invest more of your self in the enterprise. When I think "Republican" I see torture, corruption, lies, deceit, government spying, illegal wars, economic debacle, arrogance, stupidity. I can't imagine someone voting for that party knowing what we know. 8 years of Bush has pretty much discredited everything the Republican party stands for.

But then again I didn't think Nixon, Reagan, Bush I or Bush II could be elected President. Sometimes, I think I know this country - I mean I do know this country, but usually I choose to live in another land.

UPDATE: By the way, this is really good. This is why Obama's first major decision, to pick Joe Biden as his running mate, was an excellent one.