The End of Something Old, the Start of Something New

David Brooks, I owe you an apology. After your fervent support for the misguided and mismanaged war in Iraq, I thought you had become a neocon. Your seemingly mindless support of the re-election of Bush in 2004 was the final straw for me.

But perhaps I spoke too soon. Since 2005, Brooks has been expressing serious doubts about W., as illustrated best in this remark on Meet the Press from September 2005, shortly after Katrina:

I say that...you always [have] got to go back to competence. And sometimes in my dark moments, I think [Bush] is "The Manchurian Candidate" designed to discredit all the ideas I believe in. And so he has to follow through on that [speech in New Orleans]. That's the crucial thing for the next two years for him.

Not really, of course. Bush's long-forgotten speech in New Orleans led to nothing of great substance except FEMA money (that would have been available in any case). But this remark from Brooks did lead to a little-noticed shift in his rhetoric. Although he never officially declared his support for Obama, Brooks this year hinted that he found Obama a better candidate than McCain, and, more importantly for yours truly, on Monday published a truly remarkable column that marked the end of one era and the beginning of another, for yours truly as well as for the nation. Brooks wrote:

Economically, [this election] marks the end of the Long Boom, which began in 1983. Politically, it probably marks the end of conservative dominance, which began in 1980. Generationally, it marks the end of baby boomer supremacy, which began in 1968.

And for me, it marked the end of my career at Paramount Pictures as a story analyst. A secure income and a steady job -- those days are gone, at least for a while. Here comes the free-lance life. But I'm not panicked about it, and suspect the timing might be right. At least I'll have company.

Raised in prosperity, favored by genetics, these young meritocrats [who support Obama] will have to govern in a period when the demands on the nation’s wealth outstrip the supply. They will grapple with the growing burdens of an aging society, rising health care costs and high energy prices. They will have to make up for the trillion-plus dollars the government will spend to avoid a deep recession. They will have to struggle to keep their promises to cut taxes, create an energy revolution, pass an expensive health care plan and all the rest... We’re probably entering a period, in other words, in which smart young liberals meet a stone-cold scarcity that they do not seem to recognize or have a plan for.

It's funny: I have less money, but more belief in my country than ever. I view with equanimity the coming fall...and see its beauty. [pic of a favorite tree to come soon...]