Do They Think We Are That Dumb?

If you listen to many political analysts (a.k.a. pundits) and some of the political class, they think the American public is very short sited and very self-centered. Some pundits seem to believe that Americans will only support things that provide an immediate, self-serving benefit. I think these people are selling the American people short and doing us a disservice. Their drive to be important and to get their voices heard results in sophistic, short sited solutions to problems, and a generally divisive social climate.

What started this tirade?

The discussion by pundits and politicians about expanding drilling in the US and off our coasts is what fired me up most recently. Just before Nancy Pelosi and the rest of Congress has returned home for the summer recess (the “Summer District Work Period” according to the calendar on the House website (http://www.house.gov/house/House_Calendar.shtml)), they were attacking drilling because it wouldn’t show a benefit for 10 years or more.

It seems like some pundits can’t realize that we can understand the key points of an issue and make a choice that isn’t immediate self-gratification. I think the vast majority American people realize that you can’t instantly drill for oil. We realize that it will take time to find the oil, build the platforms, build the infrastructure to transport the oil, etc. We may not appreciate all the details, but we know this oil won’t be available tomorrow, next year or maybe not for 20 yrs.

Yet the pundits and some politicians seemed to be amazed and puzzled that we generally still favor more drilling within the boundaries of the United States. To me, this reaction and amazement says good things about people and typical things (unfortunately) about the political class, punditry and the news media.

We have major issues facing this country and expanding oil production is really just a small part of it all. In an ideal world, the pundits that were selling us short would sit back, look at this as a case study, realize that Americans can forestall gratification today for a better tomorrow, and then adjust their behavior accordingly. Sadly, that won’t happen.