Friday, September 24, 2010

Homo electus in all his glory

Bill Clinton is not faking here (to John F. Harris and James Hohmann of Politico, 9/23/10):
Clinton finished his political analysis on a lyrical note about democracy and how voters make themselves heard by their leaders: “That’s why every election is magical. The American people are like Mozart, writing a different symphony. They use the same words, in greater volume and different order. It’s like notes. You’ve got to hear it.”

As evidence, I can only cite more (indirect) Clinton (to Taylor Branch, in 1993):

This was the first of many times that President Clinton spoke matter-of-factly about political warfare. He never begrudged survival and ambition in politicians, whether friend or foe. Indeed, he reveled in calculations from opposing points of view. These human assessments were among many intersecting factors that made politics so enthralling to him--including trends, accidents, strategy, communication, and precise election returns by district. He loved politics so much that he could speak almost fondly of his own defeats, seemingly because he had a prime seat to examine them in retrospect.

Is there anyone alive with a more resilient faith in American democracy and the American electorate than Bill Clinton?  

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