Words. For Your Consideration...
"All last week, commentators recounted the dramatic swing in the national mood between this January and last. In 2009, President Obama was talking about bending the arc of history. In 2010, it doesn't look like he can bend enough arms to get healthcare reform through Congress.
Americans are not happy. We're on the downside of a familiar cycle: the bitter disillusionment that follows outsized hope. What could be accomplished in Washington isn't matching our expectations. And although Obama's fall has been steep and hard, he's not alone. Traditionally, a new president's party loses ground in the election that follows his inauguration. What's surprising is that we never seem to tire of the vaunted hope that gets the cycle going in the first place.
What's going on? Are we schizophrenic? Gluttons for punishment? Are we so addicted to the possibilities that, even when reality mugs us, we can't wait to dream again? Why hasn't the mountain of disappointing political realities -- presidents, parties, causes and processes -- turned us into a nation that stops caring?
The answer to these questions lies in the contradictory heart of the American character. On the one hand, we pride ourselves on our idealism. On the other, we fancy ourselves sturdy realists. If the U.S. were a cartoon character, it'd be a cheerful fellow with his head in the clouds and his feet planted squarely on the ground..."
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