An American kind of passion

Extremism is really sexy.\nIf you don't believe me, ask somebody who has been to one of those mega-rallies for Ralph Nader. Just imagine standing and cheering along with 12,000 other dreamers in a packed stadium. After a while, you wouldn't even be bothered by Nader's rambling speaking style or his obnoxious tendency to say, "Well, obviously ..."\nUnder the intoxication of extremism and its accompanying hyper-enthusiasm, you could blithely ignore Nader's claims that it doesn't matter who sits on the Supreme Court, that a poor woman's right to choose isn't in jeopardy under a Republican president and that the parties and their candidates are exactly alike.\nAnd conservative fanaticism is just as sexy.\nJust go to Pat Buchanan's Web site. He's the Reform Party's ultra-right presidential candidate. If you can get past the bigoted, arch-conservative stands and the abortion drum beating, you reach a certain Zen state of xenophobia. \n"Yes! Why don't we make English the official language? Why not abolish huge chunks of the government and let people fend for themselves? And yes, Pat, you're right, bring our boys home from overseas. Nothing bad will happen if there's no American presence in the Middle East, the former Soviet block and all of Asia."\nBoth of these guys are bad boys. By winning the New Hampshire primary in 1992, Buchanan helped defeat then-president and fellow conservative George Bush. Nader's Green cause threatens to do the same for Al Gore, whom the New York Times called "the best-informed and most committed environmentalist to run for president since Theodore Roosevelt." \nWe're all turned on by politicians who make bold pronouncements that fly in the face of reality. It's always just a bit titillating when someone such as Ezola Foster, Buchanan's African-American running mate, says the Democratic party is the greatest enemy of inner city blacks. It's hard not to be impressed when cavalier Nader suggests a George W. Bush presidency, no matter how damaging to the environment, would finally galvanize the left. \nAmerica is addicted to individuality, independence and the charisma that bubbles from people who aren't afraid to be bold. \nThat's why we don't like Gore and Bush. \nThe dead heat in which the candidates find themselves is indicative of an electorate that doesn't much care for its choices. Bill Ballenger, publisher of "Inside Michigan Politics," assures us, "Certainly there's no great passion for either of them."\nCertainly.\nBut what can you expect? The passionate people ... the people willing to speak up and out ... inspire passion. In this race, the folks screaming from the sidelines are the interesting ones.\nMeanwhile, Al and George find themselves hogtied in the middle of the field. Hogtied by polls telling them Americans want a president who will be all things to all people. Hogtied by the media, by party machines and by the need for campaign cash.\nOur major party candidates for every office are afraid if they talk about anything but poll-approved policy positions, they will lose those few crucial votes. Passion, although Americans crave it, is too risky and divisive.\nBut there's one passionate viewpoint everyone missed this time around -- that crazy idea that America can work. That, in the words of playwright Anna Deavere Smith, America's consciousness has room for "a larger idea of 'We the People.'" That poor people, rich people, white people, black people, gay people, immigrants and Native Americans can all live in the same America. That with a balance of collective effort, individual liberty and good government, a democratic republic really can be a place to pursue happiness. \nThat's the sexiest extremism of all. It's the same American extremism that inspired the Revolutionary War. The same extremism that fueled Lincoln's bid to re-unite the nation. The same stuff that pulled us through the Great Depression and World War II. The extremism that fueled the fight for civil rights in the '50s. After all, who was sexier than Martin Luther King, Jr.? Who else dared go further in articulating an America that could be?\nToday, I will vote for Al Gore, because I believe that he will continue the sound economic policies of the Clinton administration, that he will be a conscientious steward for the environment and that he is competent enough to safeguard our international interests. \nBut I will cast my first presidential vote with uneasiness. After one of the longest campaign seasons in American history (almost two years), we have failed to produce a qualified candidate who inspires and speaks with that distinctly American kind of passion.