I’d say, almost certainly to the left.
The can-do, bootstrap approach embedded in the American psyche is under assault. Eroding it is a dour powerlessness that is chipping away at the country’s sturdy conviction that destiny can be commanded with sheer courage and perseverance.
The sense of helplessness is even reflected in this year’s presidential election. Each contender offers a sense of order — and hope. Republican John McCain promises an experienced hand in a frightening time. Democrat Barack Obama promises bright and shiny change, and his large crowds believe his exhortation, “Yes, we can.“
Even so, a battered public seems discouraged by the onslaught of dispiriting things. An Associated Press-Ipsos poll says a barrel-scraping 17 percent of people surveyed believe the country is moving in the right direction. That is the lowest reading since the survey began in 2003.
An ABC News-Washington Post survey put that figure at 14 percent, tying the low in more than three decades of taking soundings on the national mood.»
Everything seemingly is spinning out of control
If 83 percent of people are not convinced the country is headed in the right direction, it should be a simple matter to fix that in November, by reversing the 2006 congressional elections. A Congress more conservative than the president is capable of a lot. During the 1990s such a Congress enacted major welfare reform and brought about the first deficit-free federal budgets in a half century.
We need a Congress that will focus on the things the Constitution gives Congress to do. We do not need a Congress that will try to micromanage the conduct of a war or hold multi-week hearings into the behavior of professional athletes. We also need a Congress whose members won’t get caught with their hands in the public cookie jar or trying to solicit sex in public restrooms.
If the American people want to feel that events are not spinning out of control, they need to invest some effort in getting and keeping them under control—and that includes devoting more attention to electing public officials than to choosing a winner on “American Idol.“
I’m not optimistic.
