The spectre of 1932...

"How a loss of faith in politicians and democracy could make 2012 the most frightening year in living memory"

I saw this Daily Mail article courtesy of Instapundit. Ouch to those running for President in the Republican primaries next year. It's almost very pessimistic:

Sadly, there seems little point in looking across the Atlantic for inspiration. In 1932, President Herbert Hoover, beleaguered by rising unemployment and tumbling ratings, flailed and floundered towards election defeat.

Today, Barack Obama cuts a similarly impotent, indecisive and isolationist figure. The difference is that in 1932, one of the greatest statesmen of the century, the Democratic politician Franklin D. Roosevelt, was waiting in the wings.

Today, American voters looking for alternatives are confronted only with a bizarre gaggle of has-beens, inadequates and weirdos, otherwise known as the Republican presidential field. And to anybody who cares about the future of the Western world, the prospect of President Ron Paul or President Newt Gingrich is frankly spine-chilling.

I was watching FOX News today and there was a panel talking about all the GOP candidates. This piece doesn't mention Mitt Romney, but certainly he's in the description of all candidates. What one member of the panel discussed was that it seemed as if Republicans are looking for an alternative to Romney and that's an issue he needs to address soon. Especially if it turns out that Romney will eventually gain the nomination in spite of Republicans looking for anyone but Mitt!

The rest of the article takes aim at the environment of Europe in the early 1930s. The Great Depression started here in the states and eventually made its way across the Atlantic into Europe. Perhaps the economy of those days were more global than I would've thought. In some ways the European economy was inter connected and in some ways the American economy was interconnected with Europe.

Anyway this column seeks to draw parallels between 1932 and 2012. Comparing the various world leaders of that time 80 years ago with those of 80 years later. Some of these parellels are spooky and unfortunately almost seems hopeless as indicated by the excerpt above about our own current Presidential race.

Time will only tell if this assessment is correct. You should read the whole article for the history lesson!