 Share
|
« Previous Politics | Next Politics » |
Email
Print
|
Mickey Kaus is Making Sense
By
This seems quite true to me:
One sort of needs to abstract away from the contingencies of 2008 to grasp the evils of Iowa. As things happen, John Edwards is much stronger in Iowa than he is anywhere else and Edwards has had a very beneficial impact on this campaign (we'll all be indebted to him even if he loses in ways that I think haven't been widely appreciated) so that's all to the good. But in a broader sense, giving Iowa such outsized importance is harmful and bizarrely arbitrary -- the press created the caucuses and could easily enough destroy them in the future. Could and probably should. If in 2012 I don't need to read any more paens to how only people who live in all-white overwhelmingly rural states could as "real" Americans, I'll certainly be a happy customer.
Do I detect a tacit media conspiracy to make the Iowa caucuses inconclusive, and even irrelevant? I'm for that! ... P.S.: It's like the moment in mafia stories when the cops just get tired of the mobsters they've been corruptly cooperating with for years and decide it's time to kill them. ... The Iowa caucuses--shot while trying to escape. ...
One sort of needs to abstract away from the contingencies of 2008 to grasp the evils of Iowa. As things happen, John Edwards is much stronger in Iowa than he is anywhere else and Edwards has had a very beneficial impact on this campaign (we'll all be indebted to him even if he loses in ways that I think haven't been widely appreciated) so that's all to the good. But in a broader sense, giving Iowa such outsized importance is harmful and bizarrely arbitrary -- the press created the caucuses and could easily enough destroy them in the future. Could and probably should. If in 2012 I don't need to read any more paens to how only people who live in all-white overwhelmingly rural states could as "real" Americans, I'll certainly be a happy customer.
Join the Discussion
After you comment, click Post. If you’re not already logged in you will be asked to log in or register. blog comments powered by Disqus