Marshall,
There is nothing wrong with being white and there is nothing wrong with being black. In fact, if Powell had run for pres, I would probably have voted for him. I am white and there is nothing wrong with me. What is wrong is:
1) appointing incompetents to the cabinet based on the political correctness of their color
2) giving oneself and one's friends four (four!) tax cuts in five years while the economy is crashing and social security is a HUGE nasty ticking timebomb that will DEVASTATE America economically, politically, spiritually, and ethically in the next ten years.
3) invading a country without secure evidence primarily because its dictator tried to kill my daddy, when even my own intelligence service says there is no evidence of that dictator having any relation with AQ
4) running the country with the mentality that 49% of voting Americans are completely irrelevant and might just as well shut the hell up or talk to the hand, 'cause I ain't listening.
5) allowing that my buddies' company (HAL) is the ONLY one to have access to the choiciest government contracts, on an exclusive basis. Also allowing them to claim as fee 1% of everything they spend in Iraq, so they trash 70,000 dollar trucks.
I think I should have capitalized "old-boy" to show where the true emphasis is.
The real problem in America is the problem with any aging country - eventually meritocracy is replaced with hereditary plutocracy and aristocracy. Instead of tough competent "mustangs" you end up with inbred drooling idiots whose only big accomplishment in life is that they were born into old money. By the same logic, why don't we have Paris Hilton for president?? Or the Bush twins? I doubt they will be less effective.
This country was built by hard-working determined competent men and that is why it became the greatest and freest country in the world. And that is why I am proud to call myself American. If we let incompetent imbecile scions to destroy all that without even a whisper of protest, without even acknowledging what is really going on, if we do not call corruption with its name, if we turn a blind eye to our politicians' misdeeds, if we justify one group's misconduct with another's, then there is something really wrong with us.