When President Barack Obama was re-elected last week, he evoked Ronald Reagan and proclaimed with typical American understatement that “America’s best days are yet to come.” It’s easy to dismiss this as political rhetoric and perhaps a little delusional. Since the economic crises began in 2008 we, along with the American public, have been fed a discourse of the inevitability of American decline. But throughout the last few months as the 2012 election cycle has progressed, I’ve begun to realise that many of the things which point to American dysfunction and decline also may signal the seeds of its revival.
It’s easy to assume that we are witnessing the decline or even the end of American pre-eminence. Virtually every week we’ve heard dire stories about the American economy especially in the face of an apparently unstoppable China, the apparently terminal social dysfunctions, economic inequalities and racial cleavages documented by the unremittingly depressing but brilliant series The Wire. I spent a year as an American politics A-level student in awe of the dysfunction and inertia of their political system, and sniggering at the eccentricities of certain sections of their political class such as Christine “I’m not a witch” O’Donnell who wasn’t aware of the First Amendment of the US Constitution separating church and State.
At face value the 2012 election wasn’t any different as both sides attacked each other with aggressive rhetoric and polarizing campaign ads. Billions were spent by Super Pacs and billionaires to get a handful of voters in a few states to change their minds, yet the heartening thing about these elections is that by and large the American electorate rejected them. Research from this election cycle suggest that negative campaign ads had little effect on how people voted and many of the most well financed candidates such as former WWE CEO Linda McMahon were defeated. The electorate showed considerably more maturity than it is often given credit for as most of the extreme candidates for congressional and senate seats lost. Most notably both Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock, tea party poster boys who made absurd statements on abortion, were defeated in races they were expected to win.
Furthermore, this election showed the public’s ability to engage with debates legalising gay marriage in three states for the first time, and perhaps even more historically, legalising marijuana in two states. These referenda show the organic strength and dynamism of the US Federal system as even when Congress is deadlocked, real change can be enacted by the states and individual citizens. This is the genius of the US Federal system as policy changes in the states often eventually filter through to the Federal government. Arguments which begin with just a few petitioners at a local level can quickly gain traction and become the law of the whole land just a few years later.
What I’m increasingly impressed with is the ability of the US political system to reinvent itself. After the disastrous Bush Presidency we had Obama, a virtually unknown 47-year-old African-American junior senator for Illinois, who defeated the most locked-in, well-financed candidate in American history in Hillary Clinton. And he got there largely from small donations from individual citizens, many of whom had never been engaged politically before.
In response to Obama we had the Tea Party. Whatever you may think about the Tea Party, they were founded as an organic political group by citizens angry at Obama’s policies and at least they provided a clear choice for the electorate compared to the identikit politicians of Europe, who only seem to offer a choice of austerity or more austerity. The American people appear to have largely rejected this extremist tea party discourse, and I have no doubt that eventually the Republican Party will adapt to this political reality and field more relevant candidates; the moderates always eventually win out.
Obviously we can’t ignore the often scandalous power of money, lobbyists, and connections but ultimately the power of citizens to reshape their country is still immense and despite the current dominance of the ‘cuckoos’ in congress, I’m inclined to think that it’s quite healthy to have a vigorous and even rambunctious debate every now and again. Through debate and disagreement come ideas and dynamism and through this history is still being made. And that’s why I’m confident that America’s best days may still be ahead.