The monster years
Last night wasnt just a victory for tolerance; it wasnt just a mandate for progressive change; it was also, I hope, the end of the monster years.
What I mean by that is that for the past 14 years Americas political life has been largely dominated by, well, monsters. Monsters like Tom DeLay, who suggested that the shootings at Columbine happened because schools teach students the theory of evolution. Monsters like Karl Rove, who declared that liberals wanted to offer therapy and understanding to terrorists. Monsters like Dick Cheney, who saw 9/11 as an opportunity to start torturing people.
And in our national discourse, we pretended that these monsters were reasonable, respectable people. To point out that the monsters were, in fact, monsters, was shrill.
Four years ago it seemed as if the monsters would dominate American politics for a long time to come. But for now, at least, theyve been banished to the wilderness.