Why Do Bad Politicians Happen To Good Countries?

Quitters never win, and winners never quit.

Unless you're Sarah Palin. Then you can quit, whine about how mean the media elites are, and get a big hug from millions of conservatives pining for a charismatic leader.

Naysayers who thought Palin was finished after her disastrous vice-presidential run and subsequent resignation can think again. Everyone's favorite hockey mom is back with a vengeance, and she's got a best-selling book, crowds of adoring fans, and heaps of of 2012 presidential buzz to prove it.

That's good news for Palin's bank account -- and bad news for the country.

The excitement over Sarah Palin has little to do with her accomplishments, her policies, or her ability to lead. Like Obama before her, Palin is a vessel for the discontent of millions of Americans. This time, it just happens to be conservative discontent. It doesn't matter what she says, does, or writes. Some conservatives will always see a political savior when they look at Sarah Palin.

But the question begs to be asked: has there ever been a political idol less worthy of worship?

The frenzy over Barack Obama was absurd. Presidential rumblings began the moment he started his first term in the Senate. Nothing in his paper-thin list of accomplishments suggested he would be a transformational figure.

But at the very least, Obama was bright, clean, and articulate.

He went to Harvard.
He sounded smart.
He reached out to the other side.

Palin, on the other hand, manages to combine Obama's lack of experience with the eloquence of Dubbya and the depth of Dan Quayle. Her policy positions consist of conservative buzzwords wrapped in layers of winks and you betchas. True, it's no secret that conservatives are suckers for folksy politicians. And there's nothing wrong with that -- as long as there's some substance beneath the folksiness.

On an even more disturbing note, Palin represents a brand of identity politics that flies in the face of everything conservatism stands for. The fact that Palin is a woman is used as a sledgehammer against her critics; every attack is automatically branded as sexism. The same people who've railed against affirmative action for decades have suddenly discovered that being a woman is the only qualification anyone needs to be a national political leader.

This is a critical moment for the conservative movement. There's an incredible amount of anger and disappointment surging up against Obama and his policies. Conservative leaders can either try to channel this energy into a positive force for substantial change, or become buzzword-chanting demagogues, fueling the worst instincts of the conservative base and alienating everyone else. Sarah Palin – who won't even draw the line at giving a nod to the “birther” movement – has chosen the latter path.

There's no question that the Republican Party needs leadership. But Palin has nothing to bring to the table. She can draw crowds -- but those crowds are made up of people who are already in the tank for the GOP.

Every minute Palin stays in the spotlight is a PR disaster for conservatism. She may have bailed out on Alaska, but Palin can still perform one more act of public service: retiring to private life.

That's a change even I could believe in.

Olympics Part Deux.

The International Olympic Committee gave Chicago a stunning slap in the face last Friday. If Chicago had gone toe-to-toe with Rio in the final round of voting and lost, no one would have been shocked.

But the combined power of Oprah and Obama couldn't even carry the second city past the first round.

Ouch.

Make no mistake -- this wasn't about Obama. There was never a compelling reason to bring the Olympics to Chicago. Rio De Janeirro deserved to win. Chicago didn't.

But at the same time, Obama's Olympic disappointment is a microcosm of his flawed understanding of foreign policy.

Critics enjoyed roasting Bush over his "arrogant" approach to world affairs. He was a gunslinging Texan with a messiah complex -- embarrassing at best, dangerous at worst.

And more often than not, Bush was guilty as charged. He thought we could swoop into the Middle East and transform it into a democratic paradise. Bush envisioned America as the savior of the world -- a nice thought, but an unrealistic one. Now, Obama is left to pick up the pieces of Bush's failures.

But arrogance comes in different guises.

Obama's employs a kinder, gentler arrogance. It's an arrogance that says that the world will bend to our wishes if we butter it up with smiles and heartfelt mea culpas. On a more personal level, it's an arrogance that says the magnetism of one man can reverse decades of anti-Americanism around the world.

There's nothing wrong with being nice to other countries. It's certainly better than being an international jerk. But it's not going to win any major concessions from the international community.

And the fact that Obama is an international celebrity doesn't mean the world will hand him what he wants on a silver platter.

Obama showed up in Copenhagen assuming that the IOC delegates loved him. They probably did. But it wasn't enough to change their minds.

People in Europe may swoon over Obama, but we're not seeing our NATO allies rush to reinforce U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Why? Because nations are selfish, and they don't want to make that kind of sacrifice. Their personal affinity for Obama isn't worth a dime when it's time to make policy.

The utility of warm-fuzziness is limited.

In the end, an American president needs to have the courage to do the right thing, regardless of what other countries say. Bush's decision to invade Iraq was a bad one -- but it would have been just as bad if every member of the UN had backed it.

"Going it alone" isn't an ideal strategy when it comes to dealing with the world's problems. But sometimes, if you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself.

The Meaning of Obama.

Barack H. Obama is now the President of the United States of America. For thousands of Americans, this means more than just a pretty new face in the White House. They believe that the Obama administration will fundamentally transform the character of our Nation. In the minds of these starry-eyed followers, Barack Obama's America will be a wondrous place where teenagers reject apathy, divisive political arguments are banished to the nether-world, marriages are strong, and public broadcasting is enjoyed and beloved by all.

It's a nice dream. It's also sheer nonsense.

When you wake up tomorrow, you probably won't be thinking of Obama's smiling face, and how swell it is that he wants to reach across the aisle. If your mind is running at all, it's far more likely to be focused on the concept of syrup-drenched waffles, and the deliciousness thereof. Soon enough, your daily routine will kick in, and you'll continue to live your life much as you did four months ago.

You'll work.
You'll talk with friends.
You'll spend too much time on YouTube.

If you happen to be the kind of person who volunteers at soup kitchens, participates in canned-food drives, and attends community meetings, you will keep on doing so. If you're a disengaged citizen who thinks that homeless people are worthless junkies, and enjoys kicking small animals, you'll stay on your dark path. The man who happens to occupy the White House doesn't even enter into the equation of your everyday choices.

This isn't to say that people can't change. They can. But speaking in a broad sense, personal change is a gradual process that originates from two main sources: our contact with God, and our contact with those who are closest to us.

Contrary to popular belief, Obama is not divine. And no matter how friendly he may look, Obama is not your friend. If given the opportunity, he probably wouldn't even want to hang out with you. It's true that Obama's inspirational speeches provide millions with an emotional high, but a surge of emotion is hardly enough to spark genuine change in an individual. In order for one man to change another, the element of regular, personal contact has to be present. The human mind is a collection of rigid patterns that can only be altered with the introduction of new, more powerful patterns. Watching a nice man talk about hope on TV hardly does the trick. 

However, Obama and his supporters can't be blamed for the faulty notion of the President's transformative power. Every four years, voters fall hard for the big lie of American politics: the notion that the President has the power to control the culture of our Nation.

Conservative icon Barry Goldwater pioneered the concept of placing "the social issue" at the center of a presidential campaign. He didn't just propose a set of policies; he promised moral renewal, and a return to a simpler time of tradition and order. While Goldwater's pitch was unsuccessful, Nixon, Reagan and Dubya used similar themes to appeal to the country. Even Bill Clinton called on his fellow Americans to "take more responsibility" for their families and communities. Ultimately, each of these presidents did change the country -- but almost solely in the realm of policy. The cultural fabric of America travelled on its own trajectory, one that politicians could neither predict nor control.

If America is a different place in 2012, there may be some things that Obama can take credit (or be blamed) for. After all, the President can have a profound effect on things like the economy, and America's relationship with the rest of the world. On the other hand, the attitudes, habits, and beliefs of 300 million individuals can't be altered with an executive order. Life goes on, regardless of whether there's a Bush or an Obama in the Oval Office. 

Real change happens. 

But it doesn't come from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. 

Double Take:

Der Messias kommt.

On Thursday, Obama gave a speech in Berlin, in front of an audience of swooning Berliners. The swooning was partially due to the fact that Obama-ism has now become the official religion of the EU, but to be perfectly honest, the speech was pretty good too. At least, pretty good for a major deity. It was full of grandiose, historic-ish imagery that drew upon America's enduring brotherhood with the German people, and little themes like world-wide peace and justice. Needless to say, there was a lot of clapping.

But does it matter?

We all know Obama's popularity is sky-high overseas. Clearly, if this were an international election, there would be no contest. However, this isn't an international election. In order to get elected, Obama only has to win over the populace of one country: the good ol' USA. Does anyone on this side of the Atlantic feel touched by Obama's highly publicized Euro-trip?

Speaking in Berlin was an obviously symbolic move, intended to conjure up images of Reagan and JFK. But almost two decades after the end of the cold war, Berlin seems like an oddly irrelevant backdrop. The typically eloquent speech was certainly far from a gaffe, but whether or not it resonates back home is yet to be seen.

The Avengers.

Even as Bat-mania sweeps across the nation, some residents of Gotham aren't waiting for a creepy guy in a rubber suit to bail them out. Depressed about the direction this country's heading in? Read this story, and let the healing begin.