In today's column, "Dumb as we wanna be" Thomas Friedman has discussed the McCain-Clinton gas holiday idiocy, along with the larger issue of failure to provide stable and significant incentives for clean energy and the attendant loss of American leadership in clean energy technology.
This is, of course, but one symptom of the still larger malaise of government run by and for the benefit of the biggist corporate vested interests. We can hardly expect more from such a government.
What has boggled me is trying to understand what we can do to check and reverse this disastrous situation. Certainly putting a Democrat like Obama in the White House and increasing Democratic majorities in Congress is a step in the right direction. But I can't forget how ineffective the Democratic loyal opposition has been in moderating the course of this administration, even since 2006.
Since Edwards lost out in this primary, my chosen candidate has been Obama. I recall pointing out at my local DFL caucus here in Minnesota that the wave of emotion that Obama could bring about across this country would be good for us all, and largely I think this has proven to be true, though the acrimony between the remaining Democratic candidates has seriously undermined its positive effects. Once in office "President Obama" could no doubt continue to change the tone of our politics through his undoubted leadership abilities, and decent Democratic majorities in Congress will help too.
Could this new government reverse the dangerous trends in the American power structure? I would like to hope so, but I have serious doubts. Can a government function positively with the opposition of an increasingly narrow and corporate dominated mass media? Can the databases of clandestine and corporate organizations (and their continued growth) be undone? Can a Congress be unbought? Can a struggle for oil dominance be stopped?
I'm truly frightened.