Jacob Weisberg of Newsweek is the latest mainstream-media scribe to pick up the theme that President Obama?s woes are due largely to the fact that Americans are ? well, too dumb to influence political decision makers:
In trying to explain our political paralysis, analysts cite President Obama’s tactical missteps, the obstinacy of congressional Republicans, rising partisanship in Washington, and the Senate filibuster, which has devolved into a super-majority threshold for important legislation. These are large factors to be sure, but that list neglects what may be the biggest culprit of all: the childishness, ignorance, and growing incoherence of the public at large.
Weisberg also makes the claim that ?our national-characterological ambivalence about government? stems from our dislike of government ?in the abstract? but love for government ?in the particular.?
I suspect Mr. Weisberg?s assessment falls a bit short of the mark. Once people know more about the ?particulars? of government policies that raid their wallets or limit their freedoms, they?re less likely to support those policies. Support for government is highest when the details about the potential costs of its efforts remain fuzzy.
