Points of View

Okay, the NY Review of Books is a quite liberal publication, so you wouldn’t expect them to support John and Sarah. They have solicited views about the upcoming election from fourteen ‘intellectuals’, seven of whom have academic connections. While the fourteen are all Obama supporters, just about each of the fourteen has an insightful point to make.

Russell Baker, ex of the NY Times, reminds us of Kennedy’s youth (he was younger than Obama) and Catholicism. David Bromwich of Yale focuses more on the campaigns’ unwillingness or inability to address basic issues, such as the Petraeus doctrine which ‘licenses a general militarization of US foreign policy’. Mark Danner of Berkeley and Andrew Delbanco of Columbia reflect on the fact that the issue of race is not addressed directly. Delbanco quotes Tocqueville to the effect that unless there is a catastrophe, we don’t manage public affairs very well and clearly we are in catastrophic times. Joan Didion doubts Tocqueville and cites a number of instances where we have failed to acknowledge a real problem. Ronald Dworkin of NYU worries about our constitution should McCain win, particularly when we are no longer the king of the hill.

Frances Fitzgerald riffs on Palin’s religious views. Timothy Garton Ash of Oxford talks about the hope the world has that Obama wins. Paul Krugman of the NY Times, believes that this election is a referendum on conservative economic policies. Joseph Lelyveld, another ex-Times man, praises Obama’s coolness. Darryl Pinckney, an African-American writer praises Obama as a ruthless politician and relates this race to Bobby Kennedy’s in 1968 with its promise of radical change. Thomas Powers, a writer, reminds us that things can get a lot worse, particularly in the Middle East. Michael Tomasky, an editor at The Guardian, compares the candidates’ approach to the daily news cycle. Garry Wills, ex of Northwestern, brings things back to the usurpations of the constitution that have occurred in the start of the 21^st century.

Take a half-hour or so and read some of the essays.