Watching (more than I expected to) Jon Corzine two nights ago as he delivered his budget

[T Wolf]

message to the NJ legislature, I was struck by how genuine, honest, and serious he was. It was not a typical (esp. the last eight years) "political" speech, designed to elicit cheers for popular statements. He was sincerely educating the legislators (and the citizens of NJ) as to exactly what was happening to the state as far as their budget is concerned. He included a lot of details and figures - he seemed to be really telling them something important that they needed to hear, and understand.

It raised a question in my mind - can that type of approach consistently work in politics and government? Can the public be appealed to at such a high level? Or, are we forever doomed to be subject to the more common, untruthful political blather that has so polluted our discourse?

I saw some of that in Barack Obama and his campaigning, as well as the speeches he has made since the election/inauguration. So, I have some faith that the public can respond to this kind of approach. But, I also fear that the structure of modern campaigning is more responsive to the sound-bite, buzz-word method that we usually get.

Is it naive to think/believe that his kind of intellectual (for want of a better term) approach can be successful over the long run? Or will we, after a short period of time, sink back into the muck of rethug gangster politics?

I would like to think that things really can be different. My major concern is that the media do not foster the in-depth kind of discussion/debate that is necessary for this kind of political discourse. In addition, the attacks that are coming, and will continue for the next four (eight) years, are much easier to communicate and make understandable with a sentence or phrase (e.g., Democrats are raising taxes vs. explaining that only the rich are going back to their previous tax rate as the law mandated) rather than a reasoned discussion of the facts.

Maybe it comes down to having "faith" that the American public will take the time to listen and be educated. History has shown that we are not a particularly understanding, intellectually-interested, or patient people.

We complain that "if only the people could hear the truth and understand reality, the GOP would fade into oblivion." We rail against those "ignorant yahoos who vote against their own interests" and the fundies who "are lied to every election by the GOP which trolls for their anti-choice and bigoted votes but never delivers the legislation."

I would love to see this country move forward in the way we handle politics. I just am not sure that we can.

The final question is - what can we do to foster this (IMO) more-desirable method?

A final observation - it sure is better listening to Corzine, Obama, and the other "smart" people than the ignorant, jingoistic, lying mother-fuckers that have ruled the media for the previous eight (16) years. OK - maybe that "m-f" is not conducive to enlightened discourse.

[babylonsister]

1. Such a good recommendation, can you explain why

he's not doing well? I like him, too, but don't live in NJ.

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newjersey/ny-bc-nj--governorsrace-po0312mar12,0,3744891.story

Poll: Opponent widens lead over NJ governor

March 12, 2009

TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine is losing ground in a public opinion poll.

A Quinnipiac University poll out Thursday finds the Democratic incumbent trailing Christopher Christie, the front-runner for the Republican nomination, by 9 percentage points. Corzine trailed Christie in a February poll by 6.

The poll has little good news for Corzine: Half of those polled disapproved of the job he's doing even before he unveiled a bad news budget on Tuesday.

Pollster Clay Richards says Christie could gain momentum as more voters find out who he is. Only 44 percent say they're aware he is a former federal prosecutor with a string of political corruption convictions.

[T Wolf]

2. People prefer to hear good news, even if it is a lie. That is what they were fed for the

last eight years. Sure, they scared us on terra, but everything else was hunky-dory due to the great repuke leadership.

So, when Gov. Corzine tells New Jerseyans the truth about the devastating consequences of eight years of Bushism, they don't like to hear that. You also have the rethug noise machine running full-blast.