Cynical Days

I'm in a traveling mode this weekend, and this morning at the airport I saw the new Esquire, which features the apparent (if not yet universally acknowledged) Democratic nominee. But it also features a story by Charles Pierce that explores some interesting questions about the national situation this year. There's a lot that a new president needs to set right--authoritarianism, domestic spying, torture--you know the drill. Many of these developments have been accomplished with the at-least-tacit-approval and complicity of the American people. Can the American people, then, simply put these trends behind us and move in a new direction of change? And is that primarily what Obama is promising to deliver? Read about absolution, confession, and penance in this insightful and important piece. No, I don't think it's going to change the election, but it may help us realize what we need this election to accomplish.