:: blame the extended gestation.... ::

:: Friday, November 05, 2004 ::

Thomas P.M. Barnett :: Weblog: Getting over myself on this election:

"In many ways, this election reminds me of the backward-glancing social conservatism of China's 4th generation of leaders, the Congress Party's return to power in India, and Putin's tough line on capitalism run amok in Russia. Like these three leaderships, the Republicans right now are doing a better job of listening to the rural heartland, which still counts for plenty in all of these four powers. And what they are saying is what I have often said: no matter how long the train nor how fast it's moving, the engine cannot go any faster than the caboose.

China wants to integrate rapidly with the outside world and modernize its economy, but guess what? It can't leave the rural poor behind. Ditto for India's IT-driven economy. Ditto for Russia's rapidly polarizing social scene where cities leap ahead and the villages tend to get left behind. In America, which is so much further along in its development, the matter is as much about values as economics. In effect, the rural heartland says to the far more integrated and outwardly-connected big coastal urban areas: you can run ahead in your 'sophisticated' view of the world and how it works, but election-wise, you won't be getting out too far ahead of what constitutes heartland values. "

:: Jim Nichols 11/05/2004 07:47:00 PM [+] ::
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