It’s the Authenticity, Stupid!
The title of this column is an obvious lift from James Carville’s famous line about the 1992 election: “It’s the economy, stupid”. That is probably the most quoted campaign statement from TV talking heads of all time, certainly since he uttered it 25 years ago.
In this past year [or two] of politics and elections, much has been made about what is going on with national elections. The pundits have looked at what has happened largely through the lens of traditional political thinking. The rise of populism and nationalism. The global elite class leaving the eviscerated middle class and lower classes behind in the rush to embrace globalism. Well, okay, that is certainly true to some degree. But these lenses of traditional political thinking do not fully explain the realities of what has and is happening.