Politicians Must Change With The Times

[babylonsister]

http://www.nationaljournal.com/njmagazine/cr_20090228_8697.php

Politicians Must Change With The Times
It's too soon to tell how the difficult straits we now face are going to change voters' priorities, but change they will.

by Charlie Cook

Saturday, Feb. 28, 2009


My guess is that I was not alone when I cringed late last month upon opening my 401(k) retirement plan statement for the previous quarter, nor when I winced this week as the stock market plummeted to a 12-year low. At least health club stocks should be surging. After all, a lot of us need to develop healthier habits: With our retirement savings just a fraction of what they were a year ago, we will be working years longer than we originally intended.

News reports say that Americans lost about $3 trillion in home equity in 2008, and about $7 trillion in shareholder wealth. The losses are still piling up and will probably continue to do so over the next few months.

Tom Brokaw's "Greatest Generation," which includes my parents, is remembered for its sacrifices during World War II. But members of that generation were shaped by their experiences in the Great Depression, when frugality and self-reliance were vital. My mom and dad paid off the mortgage on their house years early to appease my grandfather, who worried constantly about their debt to the bank. My parents paid cash for all of their cars. They were shaped by their times.

The question is, how will we be shaped -- socially, culturally, and politically -- by the difficult times we now face? How will this environment affect our long-term behavior and point of view? Learning the answers will be a challenge for candidates and elected officials, for their aides and strategists, and, most of all, for their pollsters.

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Sadly, the final edition of Profiles in Courage went to the printer long ago. Courage is rarely rewarded in politics today, and thus rarely seen. One of the more insightful people to serve in Congress over the past 20 years was Republican Rep. J.C. Watts of Oklahoma, who retired in 2002. Watts was best remembered for saying, "Character is doing the right thing when nobody's looking." Our problem these days is getting people to do the right thing when others are looking.

Our nation is going through a wrenching experience, one that only the oldest among us can possibly relate to. Some parts of the country are feeling the recession more than others, but it is only a matter of time before the downturn touches all Americans. I have heard little discussion of the larger consequences from such a great upheaval and loss of wealth. We have yet to determine the personal and social costs -- and the political fallout -- that will flow from this crisis.

We will surely see some important shifts in public opinion. It's a good bet that some political figures will learn from this and that others will miss the turn and pay the pric

[santamargarita]

1. A snake will shed it's skin, but it's still a snake!

They will never change - hate radio will guarantee that