> I was fascinated, in an unconvinced sort of way, by Larry Bartels'
> remarks at the end of his interview with me. He argued that the elite
> reads low approval ratings in the polls as a sign that the president is
> in trouble, and so is his agenda. I'm not sure how much of a there is
> there, but it's probably greater than zero - which contradicts Woj's
> model of a puppet president. Yes, the power elite wanted the
> Reagan/Volcker crackdown; I'm not sure they wanted Bush, whoever the
> power elite is these days. And watching the pundits lately complaining
> about the hollowness and weakness of the Dems makes me feel that maybe
> the power elite is ready to retire the Bush agenda but doesn't know what
> to put in its place. And speaking of the relation between pundits and
> the power elite, I'm not convinced that the power elite always knows
> what to think. I fear they read Thomas Friedman books for guidance - I'm
> not kidding about that.
I agree that the power elite wants a change. They see the handwriting on the wall. The current regime has gone far beyond being friendly to the ruling class, they are actively looting on behalf of their network of buddies. Let's just say that the ruling class doesn't like the competition and they probably are worried that the growing public distrust in institutions may open the door for something more radical.
The Democrats have long been the safety valve that dampens dissent. But the Democrats are so confused and discredited that they can't serve as a viable alternative. Hell, the people who were yelling at Ralph Nader last year are up in arms against their own party.
May you live in interesting times and have to clean up after them.
Chuck