yes we can

If there’s one thing we owe to George W. Bush and his disgraceful presidency, it is thanks for the fact that we have reached a point where voters, even traditionally apathetic young people, are tuning in and turning out, paying attention and voting. It’s way too early to predict what will happen in November but, at least in the primaries and caucuses so far, folks are voting in droves, especially Democrats. The stars may be aligned for a historic turnout this fall and that’s a good thing.

Let’s face it: the 21st century hasn’t been so good to the American brand of democracy, and it sure could use a shot in the arm. Who can forget the debacle of 2000, when the Supreme Court decided who would reside in the White House in a dubious 5-4 vote?

On 9/11, the nation withstood the most violent attack on its soil since Pearl Harbor and, for a short time, grew more unified internally and garnered near-universal support internationally. But it didn’t take our president long to squander that goodwill through an ill-advised preemptive war and a host of unconscionable policies and practices – authorized torture, spying on Americans without a court order, a prison camp for detainees never charged with a crime.

This administration’s ends-justify-the-means decision making and with-us-or-against-us foreign policy has decimated our standing in the world. Its willingness to coddle dictators in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere while spilling blood in Iraq doesn’t pass the smell test, and the no-bid contracts of Halliburton, Blackwater and other companies profiting from the war call the entire enterprise into question.

In office, Bush and Cheney consistently fashioned themselves as freedom-loving, nation-building democracy exporters – but the world didn’t buy it. History has witnessed its share of shifty-eyed snake oil salesmen and these two will be judged among them. If our nation can agree on one thing, it’s that Inauguration Day 2009 can’t come soon enough.

But as the cliché goes, elections aren’t about the past, they’re about the future – and thank goodness for that. One of the remarkable things about a democracy is how restorative and energizing an election can be. The nation is hungry for change and all of the candidates have positioned themselves as the most worthy agent of it. But there is certainly plenty to be cynical about, and even true believers can be forgiven for throwing up their hands in frustration at times.

Look at what still lies ahead and what could go wrong: Democratic Party leaders apparently want to see a convenient deal worked out so that the party can unify behind a nominee before the August convention in Denver, lest the so-called superdelegates determine the victor and overrule, seemingly, the will of the people.

I say, chill out. Give your Rules Committee and the process it created some credit. The idea was to empower voters with a majority of delegates assigned to candidates through the primaries. The uncommitted superdelegates would ensure that professional-class politicians would have some say in the decision.

The existence of superdelegates strikes me as basically sound, only dangerous if they screw it up by overturning the will of the voters. It’s a yin yang relationship with the primary process, meant to bring balance to the election force. They’re there as a backstop to keep the primary process from nominating someone at complete odds with the party’s ideals and to keep the voters enthusiastic about the candidates by reducing the chances of a contested convention.

Consistent with keeping everyone happy and ending early with a consensus candidate is frontloaded primaries – that is, holding many early primaries, including the Super Duper Tsunami Tuesday.

But no one predicted that two candidates would remain as deadlocked as Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Now it’s up to the party honchos to let the process play out without poking themselves in the eye.

It’s understandable that some top Democrats are worried. After all, the superdelegate system was set up as a reform following the chaos in the late ‘60s and ‘70s when minorities, women and other segments of the party felt disenfranchised and fistfights nearly broke out on convention floors.

But there’s a “stop us before we do something to harm our chances” flavor to this “let’s work something out” nonsense. Dudes, get through the primaries and see what the voters say before you begin to worry about subverting their will.

Think about how the Democrats have painted themselves into a corner with their decision to disenfranchise the voters of Florida and Michigan. Those two large and important states were penalized for holding their primaries earlier than the party poobahs wanted with the DNC’s declaration that they would be stripped of their delegates at the convention.

This would have been no big deal had the party coalesced behind one candidate early, but it promises no end of grief if not resolved before a contested convention.

My advice is to figure out a way to seat delegations from Michigan and Florida and get it out of the way. I realize this is easier said than done, since Hillary Clinton won both states in primaries that the candidates were forbidden to contest. Do you allow the delegates in and automatically boost her chances? Do you hold costly new primaries or caucuses? No question about it, it’s a predicament, but of the DNC’s own making.

In my view, the basic operating principle should be to let the voters vote and the chips fall where they may. If the last primary is held and no winner has been determined, then it’s on to Denver, and let the games begin. Besides, an open convention? How exciting is that?

Francis Fukuyama argued in his 1992 book The End of History and the Last Man that the end of the Cold War and the spread of democracy signaled the conclusion of the evolution of political ideologies. Our style of government would continue to spread like wildfire or a virus and we would indeed live in the best of all possible worlds. If only.

The tragedy of 9/11 and the difficulties democracies face around the globe have thrown a whole bunch of cold water on Fukuyama’s thesis. But these obstacles should only encourage Americans to take pride in the enduring resilience of our democracy and to take seriously the effort it takes to maintain and strengthen it.

It’s important to remember that elections do not guarantee that the best person is chosen, only that we get the government we deserve. Our nation’s history is full of scallywags, demagogues and assorted miscreants who managed to get themselves elected. Elections, however, provide a self-correcting mechanism for righting these wrongs – as long as we manage to survive the mischief they cause.

So pull up a chair, boys and girls, or even better, roll up your sleeves and get involved. Our participatory democracy is the greatest spectator sport around.

But don’t take my word for it. If you haven’t seen it already, check out the video Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas made, set to a speech by Barack Obama (it was his concession speech following his loss to Clinton in New Hampshire).

It’s been nearly 50 years since John F. Kennedy inspired a generation with his call to public service. In 2008, there’s something about a video generating hit after hit on YouTube that seems to connect with the public in a similar way. When it comes to politics, there’s no substitute for the goose bump factor.

Yes we can. VS