A Fateful Election (NY Review of Books)

[Guest guest]

For an election in which so much is at stake, we asked some of our

contributors for their views. —The Editors

Volume 55, Number 17 · November 6, 2008 A Fateful Election

By Baker, Bromwich, Mark Danner, Delbanco, Joan

Didion, Dworkin et al.

Baker: The new century has opened with a pervasive sense of

American decline, and for good reason. The history of the Bush years

is anything but a tonic for the spirit: the nation deceived by

official lies into endless Middle Eastern warfare, loss of America's

good reputation around the world, erosion of the middle class,

astounding budget deficits, growing financial dependence on China,

that sinister power-grabbing operation in the vice-president's office,

torture....

And now the collapse of Wall Street, home office of triumphant world

capitalism, its famous masters of the universe forced to endure the

humiliation of asking for government handouts. Serious people who

understand these things speak of the worst calamity since the Great

Depression...

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/22017