The death of Phyllis Schlafly reminds me of the death squadrons led by the likes of Anita Bryant, Barry Goldwater, Sarah Palin, Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity & Co. While the progressives are generally scripted and concentrate on such issues as education, social welfare, climate change, inequality, the Right represents constitutional immobilism and a pro-life, pro-gun rights, climate skeptic, anti-gay-biased current, set in biblical stone. The Right often shows signs of dementia (Trump/Fox News). The Left often appears to be unable to choose between an international outlook or some form of fatalism. Democrats are equally divided over free-trade and globalization.
The input of the conservatives is mostly negative. They are less occupied with a coherent agenda than they are united, for now, against the "persona" of President Obama. His sarcastic nonchalance regarding i.a. the Tea Party wing in the Republican party drives his opponents crazy. The accumulative contradictions of Trump still do not come close to denting the stoic defense lines of a president who appears to be immune to the mud slinging of an opponent he so vividly despises.
Unfortunately, the reciprocal hate between parties in America appears to have become structural. President Johnson's deals over the heads of the party lines are a thing of the past. The machine is now stuck in the shallow waters of mutual antipathy. A President Hillary Clinton might be seen as an Obama surrogate. A President Trump will have all the wrong impulses after having been called an international pariah by his own. He lacks self-confidence and bites like a wounded animal. Secretary Clinton, for her part, will never be a "sunny/exciting" president...she is too much of a work alcoholic to leave the windows open.
Hence, the choice is one in favor of the possible over the undesirable. The choice is self-evident.
In his last General Assembly address, President Obama proved again his analytical world vision, brilliant but verging on pessimism. He is more a philosopher king than a hands-on president. His words lead more to thinking things over and to reconsidering one's certainties, than to (overhasty) action. Unfortunately Trump's one-line jabs and serial lies might stick. This house-untrained attack dog is messy.
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