On the eve of the New Hampshire primary, and in preparing my introduction of David Walker today, I was thinking back to 1992 when Paul Tsongas won the Democratic contest while campaigning on fiscal issues. Here's a particularly relevant passage from his Call to Economic Arms:
This is where democracies rely upon the courage of their elected leaders. The normal political instinct is to always engage in happy talk. It is courage which allows a politician to take a people beyond that. It takes toughness to lead a people toward their preservation no matter how disquieting the journey may be. For avoidance of unpleasant reality is simply a part of human nature.
I do not think we have an economic problem here. We have a leadership problem here. Sadly, I do not see tomorrow's primary as a meaningful step toward resolving that leadership problem. In his talk, Walker mentioned two interesting organizations that might offer some hope: www.nolabels.org and www.americanselect.org.
UPDATE: Here's an article on Walker's lecture in The Dartmouth.