Obviously, the American people haven't a clue. In November 2007 they show a distinct preference for leaders who are even worse than the ones with whom they are currently dissatisfied.

Meet the Only Two Candidates Worse Than Bush and Cheney /

Rudy or Hillary: Pick Your Poison /

By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS /

In new books writers as disparate as Naomi Wolf and Pat Buchanan
conclude that America as we know her is disappearing. Both writers
hope, but are not confident, that enough Americans will catch on in
time to find the leadership to pull America back from the brink.

If polls are reliable, a majority of Americans are dissatisfied with
President Bush and Congress. However, Americans are far short of Wolf
and Buchanan's grasp of our peril.

Americans are unable to connect their dissatisfaction with the current
political leadership with their choice of new leaders. All polls show
that Hillary Clinton is far in the lead for the Democratic
presidential nomination and Rudy Giuliani is far in the lead for the
Republican nomination These are the only two candidates guaranteed to
be worse than Bush/Cheney.

Both Hillary and Rudy are committed to the war. Both refuse to rule
out expanding the war to Iran and beyond. Both are totally in the
pocket of the Israel Lobby. Indeed, practically every Giuliani advisor
is a member of the Lobby. Both defend the police state measures that
"protect us from terrorism." And neither gives a hoot for the US
Constitution and the civil liberties it guarantees. The Republican
Giuliani is likely to overturn the Second Amendment even quicker than
the Democrat Hillary.

Both Hillary and Rudy are creatures of ambition, not of principle.
Both are one up on Karl Marx. Marx said truth serves class interests.
For Hillary and Rudy, truth is what serves their individual interests.
They both wear black hats, and the horse they ride is called power.

Yet in November polls, Republicans prefer Giuliani by a margin of five
or six to one over Ron Paul, the only principled Republican candidate
and a person who without any doubt believes in the Constitution and
would protect it.

Democrats prefer Hillary by a margin of twenty to one over Dennis
Kucinich, the only member of Congress sufficiently concerned and
courageous to introduce impeachment against the notorious war criminal
*** Cheney. By margins as much as forty-four to one, Democrats prefer
Hillary to Senator Christopher Dodd, who promises to give America back
its Constitution in the first hour of his administration. Former
Alaska Senator Mike Gravel does not even register in the polls.

Obviously, the American people haven't a clue. In November 2007 they
show a distinct preference for leaders who are even worse than the
ones with whom they are currently dissatisfied. What does this tell us
about the American people and their commitment to be sufficiently
informed for democracy to function?

It tells us that they are not up to the challenge. It is only a matter
of time before America succumbs to the plutocracy, against which
Warren Buffet recently warned Congress, or the fascist tyranny that
Naomi Wolf sees in our future.

-------------------------------------------------------------
Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the
Reagan administration. He was Associate Editor of the Wall Street
Journal editorial page and Contributing Editor of National Review. He
is coauthor of The Tyranny of Good Intentions.He can be reached at:
PaulCraigRoberts@xxxxxxxxx





.