"The three most powerful letters in American politics are ‘FDR.’ Franklin Roosevelt unleashed a political revolution so powerful and
complete that it required the incredible extremism of the Bush administration to bring it to heel. That is not to say the revolution wasn’t
flagging before George took the Oval Office chair. Democratic Presidents and Presidential hopefuls have been running on Roosevelt rhetoric
since the titan died in his fourth term, but the facts on the ground are clear. The country has been steadily retreating from the legacy of
FDR for decades.
Enter Dennis Kucinich, Democratic congressman from Ohio, former Mayor of Cleveland, and candidate for President in 2004. There is not
a single polling indicator that puts him above ten percent support at this point, and he managed only a 1% showing in the Iowa caucuses.
Pragmatism dictates that he is merely tilting at windmills, but a closer look reveals something far different in play.
I spent Friday to Sunday on the eve of the Iowa caucuses in a giant red van with the Kucinich campaign as he stumped in a dozen cities
all across the state. In speech after speech, Dennis Kucinich railed against the sorry lot of the American worker, the pale shadow that is
health care in this country, the deteriorating state of the environment, and the war in Iraq. These were themes that, by and large, were
echoed by virtually every other candidate running in the state. The difference, however, is that Kucinich owned a moral authority and clarity
of policy on these matters that most of the other candidates would love to call their own. He is untainted by corporate funding, and has
practiced what he preaches for the duration of his career. The other candidates, each one, are excellent individuals in their own right. But
there is just something extra happening with Dennis.
He is the only candidate in this race hitting hard against NAFTA and the WTO. He is the only candidate promising, with details attached,
to establish universal single-payer health care for everyone in America. He is the only candidate attacking the deranged nature of the
bloated Pentagon budget, and has sworn an oath to clean that house to pay for his social programs. Drawing on the lessons of Vietnam, a
conflict which dragged on because we were too proud to leave when we should have, he has crafted a detailed plan to get our troops home
within 90 days. This, like the other policies, sets him apart. Through it all is a cry for the worker, the forgotten American worker, and the
family, and the soul of the nation entire.
The ghost of FDR had come to corn country."
quiz...who wrote this?dp
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