To My Conservative Friends (or 'Dear Shadow Government') Posted by David Shorr

Now is the political season of our disappointment. So many in the pundit class feeling let down after the high hopes of a year ago. Me too. You see, I actually believed in -- and still hope for -- the possibility of post-politics. I expected that our conservative policy wonk counterparts would work with us on the basis of at least a shared diagnosis of the problems. But as much as I believe in bipartisanship, I also believe in the facts. Blaming the governing party for the partisan tenor of our political discourse is about as accurate as claiming the economy would be better off without the stimulus or that our system of private health insurance is peachy keen. So I feel really let down that our politics are still mired in petty bickering instead of rising to the formidable challenges of our times.

It was the debate over "declinism" that got me started on this today, particularly the juxtaposition of a Dan Twining post on Shadow Government and an Orville Schell op-ed in the LA Times -- with Twining telling America to cheer up and recognize its strengths and Schell giving a balanced but sobering accounting of our strengths and weaknesses. I have genuine sympathy for a lot of Twining's argument; he's right that we shouldn't lose sight of the United States strong strategic 'fundamentals.' But he gives a cursory look at the negatives, and echoes the ubiquitous talking point that the fiscal deficit is our chief problem:

We have plenty of problems at home, from inadequate infrastructure to an underperforming educational system and, perhaps most disturbingly, a growing burden of national debt that, if not corrected, will increasingly undermine our welfare at home and our leadership abroad.

Strategic about the strengths, off-handed about the challenges. So here's my question to my conservative friends, after you've read Schell's piece, can you tell me we've spent the last year debating the real challenges to the country's position in today's world?

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