It's November again. The incumbent president makes people wonder why they were so excited four years ago. He was never really "of the left", his main plan was to eliminate the budget deficit then and it still is, his heart is with the bankers in spite of all the abuse they heap on his head—or if it's not, then he's their unconscious tool, which would be worse.
Of course the Republicans have nothing whatever but greed and fear; it's tempting to vote for them because the capitalist system is collapsing around our ears anyway—why not hasten the process and the eventual triumph of the enlightened proletariat? Vote for Alf Landon!
People didn't, though. They voted for the Happy Warrior, FDR, in spite of his weak record and ambiguous attitude toward progressive ideas. They voted for public art and state parks, whatever regulation they could get of the financial sector, and a big, confident grin. It wasn't enough, because it's never enough. It was enough for now. And in retrospect, it was a hell of a lot.
Of course the Republicans have nothing whatever but greed and fear; it's tempting to vote for them because the capitalist system is collapsing around our ears anyway—why not hasten the process and the eventual triumph of the enlightened proletariat? Vote for Alf Landon!
People didn't, though. They voted for the Happy Warrior, FDR, in spite of his weak record and ambiguous attitude toward progressive ideas. They voted for public art and state parks, whatever regulation they could get of the financial sector, and a big, confident grin. It wasn't enough, because it's never enough. It was enough for now. And in retrospect, it was a hell of a lot.
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| Inauguration Day 1941. Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. |
