Hatred and Divisiveness

The hatred and divisiveness of political discourse these days is really alarming. Not only does it mean hardened positions with no room to maneuver and to compromise when necessary for the common good, it means that each side of an issue doesn't even hear the arguments of the other.

This is the legacy of Watergate, and after George Bush is gone from office, it will almost certainly become his legacy as well. There is no question that since Watergate political divisiveness has grown. When the Republicans with the help of the religious neocons of the far right took power the circle was completed. They went after Bill Clinton with a viciousness never before seen in American politics, even during their worst days. They literally spent tens of millions of dollars chasing any way they could find to bring charges, even trumped up ones. It was a bitter pill for them to swallow in the end when all they could do was see their personification of evil acquitted of lying about a blowjob.

So now we see Mr. Bush. First of all, were the political system not irreparably broken he could never have been president. The far right, however, has successfully driven most men and women who might be superbly qualified for the job out of the arena with their rabid persecutions. A reference to the Swiftboat or the Willie Horton (Bush's dad) ads are excellent examples as is the backlash response of attacking the current Mr. Bush's National Guard record, or more precisely, lack thereof. The man is a product of the elite class. He's never held an honest job in his life that wasn't handed to him through the influence or interdiction of others. He's out of touch with the working and middle classes. He has the arrogance that comes with too much money and too little responsibility and the pig-headedness that accompanies religious neocons who cannot imagine they can possibly be wrong about anything.

And the circle is complete. Only a miracle will break the cycle of hate and retaliation now. The harm caused by Mr. Bush's ill conceived war in Iraq and his incomplete war in Afghanistan will haunt our society for generations as we see or children and grandchildren taxed to pay for them. The failures there and Mr. Bush's squandering of our reputation with the world community will echo for a very long time as well.

We will have another president in just under two years, and he or she will be left to clean up Mr. Bush's mess as someone has cleaned up after him his entire life. The next political campaign will be another vicious cycle of false accusations, personal aspersions, and character assassination. The really qualified people are already distancing themselves, and what remains will be those who can raise a lot of money to buy the election in one way or the other. Once again we'll approach the ballot box not to vote for a candidate who will fill us with confidence and hope, but rather holding our noses and picking the person we think will do the least damage. If we bother going at all.