“I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve”
This quote is attributed to Isoroku Yamamoto, the commander in chief of Japan’s Combined Fleet, who conceived of the attack on Pearl Harbor. While undocumented, its authenticity is credible given Yamamoto’s regret that a third wave had not been ordered to more completely decimate the U.S. resources. The Japanese held back the third wave for several reasons, chief of which they expected the war with the U.S. to be a quick one. It may be that Yamamoto alone understood the tremendous potential of American resolve.
From the beginning of this election cycle it has been the strategy of the Obama campaign to vilify Romney, including character assassination and mockery. Further, despite the contrast the President has tried to employ via Romney’s “47% comment”, it has been Mr. Obama’s rhetoric and ridicule that has alienated vast segments of the electorate. Reasonable people can have different views on public policy, but there’s a difference between spirited debate and bullying tactics like name-calling and insults. Proponents of both sides will always participate in mindless mudslinging, but we expect more from the candidates themselves.
Unfortunately for the Obama campaign, Romney was not destroyed before the first debate, and his rope-a-dope strategy left him with energy, issues, and money in the bank to catapult with the first debate. Once the public was able to see that Romney might not be the monster he had been portrayed as, the house of cards built by the President began to fall apart. Beyond just seeing Romney as a viable candidate, the illumination of that first debate cast a shadow of distrust on all President Obama was saying, and this has only been exacerbated by the mess in Libya, and the apparent cover-up. It may be that the administration has engineered it own suicidal October surprise.
Einstein may have been correct in his assessment of doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result being the definition of insanity, but I might contend that it is the mark of humanity. We do what we do because we don’t know anything else to do. As Jerry Seinfeld queried, why do men beep their horns at pretty girls? Do they really expect the girl to run down their car to show their appreciation? Jerry was right… it’s all we got. Obama continues to eschew the serious discussion of issues at serious forums, instead to appear on comedy shows to tell jokes and babble on about pop culture. There may be a time when that would fly, but now is not that time. It would appear though, that it’s all he’s got.
The left places a higher premium on the value of celebrity. Their successful presidents rank high on the “coolness” scale. JFK, Clinton, Obama. When they’re left with less “cool” candidates; LBJ, Humphrey, Dukakis, Gore, Kerry…, they are less successful. They are mortified when we are represented by decidedly “uncool” guys like the Bushes or Mitt Romney. Celebrity is adored by much of America, but the left seems more likely to inordinately value the opinions of Hollywood stars, who earn their living by selling fiction. Obama has capitalized on these “hero-worship” tendencies, and continues to try to work them to his favor. We expect political rallies to be loaded with sycophants and devotees, but his have always resembled rock concerts, with, forgive me my chauvinism, mature women swooning and acting like pre-pubescent girls at a Justin Bieber concert. Even a few men get “a thrill up their leg”! The desire for a King-like mighty leader hearkens back to our herd instincts where confidence for direction is left to one superior head. Not surprisingly, support for this type of leadership is strongest where people flock together into cities, and weakest where people are more separated, and independent.
IMHO: Our flag has thirteen stripes representing the thirteen colonies; our history, and the foundation on which this country was built. There are fifty stars, representing the fifty states, and, by extension, the people of those states. There is not one star, nor is there one leader that we will abdicate our freedom to; we, the people, are the stars. Our success as a nation is directly attributable to the structured chaos of checks and balances imposed by the Constitution, with the ultimate balancing check found in the opening words… “We the People” are in charge here; we are the giant, and ultimately we do not long suffer tyrants of any measure, foreign or domestic.
So,to We the People – suppose we start gathering together in our small communities, neighborhoods, hamlets, and villages – knowing what’s happening around us – voting in those we know and can trust to do the right thing. This will work its way to the top even as cream does.