The current problems in France have got to be Gauling … er, galling to the people there and maybe even puzzling. They’ve led the Resistance to the war in Iraq and have inherited a whirlwind of seemingly unexpected and undeserved Muslim backlash at home. The whole fanatical Muslim thing around the world has shown how little we understand the fundamentalist … er, fundamental differences that seem to separate the tribes of humanity.

We talked about some of the generational differences that can create different experiences and views of the world between such a seemingly homogenous group as regular old white Americans. Looking out that window seat last week did have an overwhelming component to it. If there are real, if not insurmountable, differences between people who share much of the same culture and time on the planet, how different can we be and still be of the one human group riding this planet? Apparently not only can we be very different, but we can be blissfully unaware of those differences and completely surprised when they manifest.

Not many of us remember the Truman-Dewey election first hand, though you may have seen the famous picture of Harry S. holding the copy of the Chicago Tribune with the “Dewey Defeats Truman” banner. We all remember the major networks calling the election for Sad Al in 2000, though there were papers which called the election for Bush before Florida was tallied, and ended up printing retractions (check out the use of the liveplasma tool we featured in an earlier MMTYM article.) Locally we have the “He-Can’t-Win” to “Omigosh! He-Did-Win!” mayoral race where it seemed a sure bet we’d be dealing with a Freman-Hendrix-led Detroit as recently as a few weeks ago.

All of these are examples of how wrong we can be when it comes to prognosticating political events and the reasons behind them. The French are still trying to make sense of how the underclasses became such a tinderbox, the non-Right majority is still dazed by the national turn of events and the suburbs can not understand how the voters in the City of Detroit could have turned their back on the suburban candidate. Well, Mr. Puzzled, meet Mr. Angry.

All the “winners” in these disputes are angry about something, aren’t they? The French Muslims don’t feel very French. The initial tragedy of the two teenagers’ deaths has escalated way out of proportion, or so it has seemed to those on the outside. It served as a flashpoint for a smoldering resentment at being treated as second-class citizens. Anybody else remember a similar “small” police incident a generation ago around 12th and Claremont and what that led to?

The media and the Democrats were so certain the country wouldn’t fall for the Bush rhetoric and position that they missed the basic fact of how voters felt disempowered by and disconnected from the political process and it’s consequences. A great book describing how Middle America votes against its own interests is What’s the Matter with Kansas? by Thomas Frank, a native Kansan and former Republican. The middle has been ripe for the plucking and the Far Right, stealing a page from the Left’s playbook on building a grassroots party, starting battling and winning the war on the local level. A couple of accurate, if Left-ish descriptions of what happened and why can be found here and here. In brief they point out that to win at the ballot box the Right understood it had to win the ideology war, and shows how it has gone about it. A little chilling, but good reading.

Which brings us finally to home and our local situation. In spite of all the media reporting and all the wishes and hopes of the suburbs, the City re-elected Kwame to another term. Voters consistently misreported their thoughts and decisions in the exit polls, just as people 50+ year ago did during the 1948 presidential election. Why? It seems to be the same old story – one that shows how little the Outside understands what motivates the Inside.

As the election recedes, the reasons for the outcome become clearer. The results of the primary were cited as a wake up call by and for the Mayor, and he worked on his presentation and message content accordingly. The voters appreciated his several apologies for the excesses and application of HipHopitude to local government. These excesses were repeatedly held up as examples of his inability to govern the City by Outsiders, and by implication, the City residents felt they were being called incompetent to govern themselves. Detroiters seem more likely to see the good of his administration – things like cutting the grass, plowing the snow, as well as 50 new shops and restaurants downtown. Things that affect their day-to-day lives. Couple this with Hendrix’s perceived arrogance during the debate and throughout the election process (telling people in the crowd that they needed “character education” for their kids didn’t sit well), obvious support of and connection to the white suburban ring around the city and in Lansing and, yes, his biracial family all contributed to the Pull-the-Wagons-in-a-Circle reaction that led to the unexpected results.

Bush and Kilpatrick can be said to have this in common – voters are willing to forgive a politician who has done wrong more easily than to vote for someone who hasn’t done anything wrong. This must resonate with something deep within us; the willingness and need to forgive a leader when he errs in his personal life. We can overlook a lot of professional incompetence and even malfeasance if we think he’s a Good Joe who’s learned his lesson about drinking, womanizing, excessive partying, whatever. And this is why, IMHO, we’re in the state we’re in today, both locally and nationally.

So, what to do? Where is hope for those who might like to see government at all levels managed by the best and brightest? It appears to be out of our hands, good people, and up to forces beyond our control. Still, I believe we have cause for hope. There is one thing larger than politics, dirty dealing, and crafty PR that can bring low the fools who teeter at the pinnacle of their professions, and that is the pinnacle itself.

Both Bush and Kilpatrick will grow or be beaten, not by a better opponent (though both of their opponents were better) nor by an informed electorate voting in their own best interest (neither had to contend with that), but by the size and weight of the office they hold. We’re seeing Bush’s approval ratings sink lower and lower, as his basic inability to rise to the requirements of the office become more and more apparent. Hendrix stated during the debates that Kilpatrick just wasn’t ready, that “Getting elected and being ready to do the job are two different things.” (Detroit Free Press) I guess we’ll just have to wait and see whether Kwame has learned his lesson, as the voters believe, or whether he just doesn’t have the skills and/or willingness to be the Mayor in fact as well as in name.

My last thought on elections today: Did anybody pay attention to the school board election results? This will be the first time since 1998 that Detroit will have an autonomous school board responsible for what happens to the kids of the city. You like what you’re seeing in France do ya? How many more illiterate high school “graduates” will it take to reach critical mass among our own populace? We better hope it went well, if we want to stem the increasing tide of functional illiteracy in our city, state and country.

There’s my Big Fat Opinion for today. Tell us what you think on the message board or send me an email at mmtym@detroitbuzz.com. All responses welcomed and read.

In parting, heed our Weekly Words of Wisdom:

You can’t solve a problem on the same level you created it.

- Albert Einstein

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