We are a great nation. We just landed a fully functional rover with pinpoint accuracy inside a crater on Mars. We won the most medals of any country in the just-concluded summer olympics. We are capable of much, and we achieve much.
We are now embarking on yet another contest for the highest office of the land. On one side stands the incumbent who rode into office on promises of hope and change, and who has kept about as many promises as his opponents were powerless to prevent. On the other lurches capitalism's poster child, a very high net worth businessman whose claim to office is his purported ability to fix the economy that was broken during his party's last presidential term. At the vice presidential level, a seasoned former senator with extensive experience in foreign policy and four years in executive office is pitted against a bright and charismatic young congressman with clear, if controversial, ideas about economic policy but who, like his running mate, lacks any real experience in foreign affairs.
My biases may be obvious, but in truth, I feel no malice towards any of these candidates, and am looking forward to a spirited policy debate. The quality of that debate will, at least in part, reflect the quality of discourse among the American people. It will be tempting to take the low road, to attack the men and not the ideas, to pursue partisan combat into the mud. It will be equally tempting, as in the past, to think ill of those who support the candidates we oppose, to make our disagreements personal rather than merely philosophical.
The greatness of our nation may be judged by the quality of our debate. Although our ideas at times divide us, our values and goals are largely the same. Let's hope that this time we can show the world that our greatness is not confined to feats of science or of strength, but extends to our ability to follow the dictates of reason, conscience and goodwill in choosing those who will lead us. I know that some, including a less idealistic part of me, will criticize this wish as naive and unrealistic. But wouldn't it be nice if, just this once, we could surprise ourselves by our own vast penchant for basic human goodness?
We are now embarking on yet another contest for the highest office of the land. On one side stands the incumbent who rode into office on promises of hope and change, and who has kept about as many promises as his opponents were powerless to prevent. On the other lurches capitalism's poster child, a very high net worth businessman whose claim to office is his purported ability to fix the economy that was broken during his party's last presidential term. At the vice presidential level, a seasoned former senator with extensive experience in foreign policy and four years in executive office is pitted against a bright and charismatic young congressman with clear, if controversial, ideas about economic policy but who, like his running mate, lacks any real experience in foreign affairs.
My biases may be obvious, but in truth, I feel no malice towards any of these candidates, and am looking forward to a spirited policy debate. The quality of that debate will, at least in part, reflect the quality of discourse among the American people. It will be tempting to take the low road, to attack the men and not the ideas, to pursue partisan combat into the mud. It will be equally tempting, as in the past, to think ill of those who support the candidates we oppose, to make our disagreements personal rather than merely philosophical.
The greatness of our nation may be judged by the quality of our debate. Although our ideas at times divide us, our values and goals are largely the same. Let's hope that this time we can show the world that our greatness is not confined to feats of science or of strength, but extends to our ability to follow the dictates of reason, conscience and goodwill in choosing those who will lead us. I know that some, including a less idealistic part of me, will criticize this wish as naive and unrealistic. But wouldn't it be nice if, just this once, we could surprise ourselves by our own vast penchant for basic human goodness?
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