Ten Miserable Years

[dtotire]

Ten Miserable Years
Why it's going to so hard--and why it's so important--to put this decade behind us.


E.J. Dionne Jr.
* December 31, 2009


WASHINGTON -- Certain decades shape the country's political life for generations by leaving behind an era to embrace or, at least as often, to scorn.

The 1960s were definitely such a decade. The 1930s qualify, and so do the 1980s. But as important as all these periods have been, their significance may be dwarfed by the reckless and squandered decade that is, mercifully, ending.

I'm afraid that the past 10 years will be seen as a time when the United States badly lost its way by using our military power carelessly, misunderstanding the real challenges to our long-term security, and pursuing domestic policies that constrained our options for the future while needlessly threatening our prosperity.

I am aware that the previous paragraph is thoroughly controversial, and that befits any description of a politically consequential decade. Much of the contention surrounding Barack Obama's presidency is simply a continuation of our argument over the effects of George W. Bush's time in office.

That is why Obama, despite his fervent wishes, has been unable to usher in a new period of consensus. Bush's defenders know that Obama's election represented a popular reaction against the consequences of the 43rd president's time in office. Because Obama is both the anti-Bush and the leader of the post-Bush cleanup squad, his success would complete the rebuke. So the Bush camp -- Karl Rove's regular contributions to The Wall Street Journal's opinion pages are emblematic -- must stay on the attack.

Domestically, Obama inherited an economic catastrophe. Dealing with the wreckage required a large expenditure of public funds that increased a deficit already bloated by the previous president's decision to fight two wars and to cut taxes at the same time. Bush's defenders, preferring to focus attention away from this earlier period of irresponsibility, act as if the world began on Jan. 20, 2009, by way of saddling Obama with the blame for everything that now ails us. But the previous eight years cannot be wished away.Our current president is more deliberate about the use of American power than his predecessor was, and determined to repair America's image with other nations. Obama is committed to fighting terrorism, but does not believe that a "war on terror" should define American foreign policy.

This leads directly to another essential argument over the meaning of the last decade: whether the proper response to the 9/11 attacks included not only the widely supported retaliation in Afghanistan but also the invasion of Iraq. Obama's view -- that the Iraq War wasted American power and dissipated good will toward us around the world -- is a direct reproach to the core assumptions of the Bush foreign policy.

So is Obama's refusal "to set goals that go beyond our responsibility, our means, or our interests," as he put it in his recent West Point speech, as well as his insistence upon appreciating "the connection between our national security and our economy." This measured approach to the use of force is antithetical to a foreign policy ased on "bring 'em on" and sweeping pledges to "defeat our enemies across the world."



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[FirstLight]

1. I am coining the phrase

"The Decade of Our Collective Misery" ...for the lost ten years of HELL we have all been through. Recovery is too small a word for the mess we have to clean up ...globally, domestically and personally...

This is the first time i have seen the actions of world leaders and stupidity and carelessness of our own govt affect SO MANY on such a personal level. we have all been collectively abused and raped and pillaged by the PTB...and things are changing, albeit slowly.
As we move more into our own communities and find our support system in those who are in the same boat, we find our strength lies in the connections we make and those we work WITH to change things... community organizing on a mass scale in our own backyards will be the wave of the new decade. changing things WHERE WE CAN, because the changes that matter most are in our own backyards and community gardens and such.
I am an idealist, i would like to think that we will emerge in a better place 10 years from now.
little by little, the path back to health after abuse is full of small steps...
just remember to reach out a hand and offer it to others stumbling alongside you...