The End of Gump

I thought there was some sort of glitch in her computer board. Did a VP candidate for the United States of America just wink at me? Then it happened again and again and I realized this was no mistake. Someone actually planned this out and thought it was a good idea.

Sarah Palin did okay in the debates last week. She at least took some attention away from her painful interviews. What's fascinating is how this election has become a Rorschach inkblot test of where this nation is at, region by region. Eight years ago, the winking and tough talk might have seemed cute. Now it's a little insufficient. What was once charming is now unsettling. The age of Forrest Gump politics sunsets with George Bush.

In the 90s, Americans turned a blind eye to a morally-questionable candidate because he seemed smart and always seemed to be flirting with us. Bill Clinton turned out to be everything he was advertised as in '92. He was smart, a bit chaotic in his thinking and governing, and someone who could lie easily. It was in the mid 90s when Forrest Gump came ou, followed by movies like "Dave." Americans wanted something nostalgic and folksy. Gump was the epitome of 'aw chucks' momma-isms. It was more than a hit movie but a cultural shift. Amidst relative peace and economic prosperity we also wanted Mayberry. Awash in dotcoms, OJ Simpson, Lewinsky, and Whitewater many people craved simplicity and earnest.

Gumpism took hold in the mid-90s. I remember watching the movie on a debate team bus trip. Many of my high school classmates promised that I would love Forrest Gump. I was probably the only one on the bus who hadn't seen it once. What I saw was something surprising and almost appalling. On a bus of so-called educated, critical thinking young adults they laughed and cheered Gump as he rambled and stumbled through history and into fortune and fame. Throwing all the ideals of education, rhetoric, dialogue, and historical analysis my classmates just wanted to be Gump. They would surrender all they had learned to just be lucky and stupid.

Republicans cornered the market on Gump politics. Building a base of rural voters, evangelicals, and angry white men the party practiced the very same complex wheeling and dealings as the Dems but would hide behind small-town folkism. Fred Thompson was a Gump politician. So were many Republicans who came to power in the 90s. They were a counterpoint to Clintonism. Nevermind the fact that Clinton truly did come from poverty and the South and fought his way up to the presidency, and most of the Republicans claiming to be from a small-town actually came from rich, well-heeled families. A shift had been made in the American public's mindset that culminated in the 2000 election of the ultimate Gump: George 'Dubya' Bush.

Bush had plenty of gumption. He was a cowboy (who didn't ride horses). A fighter (who skipped all fights). A rancher (who used his ranch as a movie set). Bush made his inability to effectively communicate seem like a plus. He was simple folk. And so it came to pass that we had a simple mind in charge of the most complex nation in the world.

Eight years later we are seeing what Gump did for us. As our country stands on the verge of a depression, our military is badly beaten and damaged in two different unwinnable wars, our diplomatic leverage is spent, our prestige is gone, and our laws are shredded, Americans are no longer so fond of Gump politics. It's good to have smart people in power. It's a plus to be knowledgeable and qualified. It's not too attractive to mangle your words and thoughts. And people care a little bit less about mommaisms and folksiness.

Palin has come eight years too late to the party. Her schtick seems tired, rehearsed, and desperate. I never thought it was possible but because of her, a Black man stands a good chance at getting elected president. Don't get me wrong, I don't think rural voters in Ohio and Pennsylvania want to vote for Obama. In the Dem. primaries he was destroyed by Hillary Clinton in the big states on the basis of White rural voters. They very much do not want to vote for Obama. But thanks to Palin many are seeing the light: they have no choice. Palin is so obviously underwhelming to blue collar voters that they have been flooding in droves over the past few weeks to switch.

Obama was once 15 points down in Florida. Now he's ahead bout 5-10 points. That's a 20 % reversal and it's mainly because of Palin dragging McCain down. McCain still might win the presidency but it will be despite Palin not because of her. Americans are wary. They now know that life is not a box of chocolates.. Ignorance isn't charming, it's dangerous.