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Strategies & Market Trends : Booms, Busts, and Recoveries -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (57521)	12/23/2004 12:59:52 PM
From: Raymond Duray	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74559

Mq, Re: It's true the leaders do make BIG decisions, but those decisions are vetted by the mob. Adolf didn't ravage Europe by himself. He just got in front of the mob and egged it on. He was pushed to the surface because that's what the mob collectively thought was a good idea. Have you read Mein Kampf? I have and I will assure you, Hitler understood and abused the ability to mold public opinion. That the "mob is surly" is well known. Franklin Roosevelt was dealing with much the same issues of unemployment and economic malaise as was Europe in the 1930s, yet his solution was diametrically opposed to that of Hitler and Mussolini, as well as being a stop-gap to prevent a tyranny of the Left in the U.S. which was also a distinct possibility. Hitler may not have pulled the literal trigger on ravaging his European neighbors. However, in the absence of a charismatic leader like Hitler, there never would have been the miltarized nation-state that gave rise to WW II. Much the same thing can be said today about George Bush. He's an odious little man, but his strength is that he's a superb propagandist and is capable of bringing out the worst in Americans. Xenophobia, militarism, disdain for civil rights and anti-intellectualism are all common aspects of the collective American psyche. The difference between a Franklin Roosevelt and George Bush is that Roosevelt attempted to bring out the best in people, and Bush is succeeding in bringing out the worst.