USNews.com: Letters: On to the polls

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

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On to the polls

"Shape without form, shade without color..." Admittedly, T.S. Eliot was not commenting on this year's presidential debates when he wrote the poem, "The Hollow Men." And, neither candidate is a hollow man, at least on the surface. Both candidates proved themselves formidable debaters, although the senator displayed forensic abilities that were more polished than the president's. The substance of the candidates' positions, though, is another matter. They represent contrasting responses to the forces that globalization and the demise of the Cold War have unleashed. To the senator, these forces represent problems that existing frameworks must contain or palliate. Hence, his stresses on multilateral diplomacy, protectionism, and increased government sector involvement in health care, not to mention his opposition to the president's proposals for Social Security and taxes. From the president's perspective, these forces contain possibilities, which explains not only his war policies, but also his emphases on freedom and choice in trade policy, health care, Social Security and, of course, taxes. The watchword of the senator is security; that of the president is opportunity. This election is not the first one in which such competing visions have emerged. The president's policies build upon Ronald Reagan's in many respects, while the senator's proposals are rooted in liberal Democratic precedents. Yet, the need to choose is more urgent than before, for the institutions we have relied upon to manage diplomatic, political, and economic conflicts are outmoded beyond question. The president is not committed to maintaining them as they now exist, or to giving them pride of place. The senator, on the other hand, is. And therein lies the difference between the alternatives. Shall we seize the chances that present themselves to us? Or, shall we muddle, and remain, like Eliot's Hollow Men, paralyzed forces, gestures without motion?

CHARLES H. RIEPER, PH.D.

Columbus, Ohio