Every time I get jaded about politics, something like this comes up to give me hope.
Dennis Kucinich is still a politician, first and foremost. He did things at times in his 2004 run that made me think he was running for Student Body President instead of leader of the free world, and the age difference between Dennis and his new-ish wife is almost stereotypical midlife crisis. He also makes use of the same jingoism and sound-byting I came to loathe from the Republicans. Some of Dennis’ solutions are disconnected from a larger reality, such as completely shutting down NAFTA cold, and rejecting technology with a recent bill requiring paper ballots.
However, Dennis Kucinich also carries with him a sense of philosophy about politics. His terminology is intentional and, for modern politics, often quite radical. He wants things like a Department of Peace and talks freely about holism and process. If am very interested to see how he and others develop in a Democratic Congress. There is a chance philosophy will improve.
Dennis still isn’t my ideal, but he’s arguably the most powerful and well-known progressive in the nation. (The jury is still out on Nancy Pelosi, in that regard.) My hope is that his style of politicking is going to allow for people like Barbara Lee to assume a more national posture, and that the better parts of the Kucinich world view become the norms of the next generation of politicians.
