E. J. Dionne, Jr.’s “Why Americans Hate Politics” (Touchstone Edition 1992) is a scientific view of politics spanning from the turn of the 20th century through 1992. Dionne believes that although politics offered solutions during the first half of the century, the last half fell short in many ways. He argues that Americans want resolutions to the country’s problems, but politicians offer little more than attack ads, slander campaigns, and character assassinations. Dionne feels that Americans hate politics because they hate politicians, they hate their partisan approaches to problem solving, and they hate their total disregard for the plethora of problems facing the country.

Dionne argues that Franklin Roosevelt had a profound impact on the 1930s that lasted well into the last half of the century. Roosevelt’s administration solved many of the country’s problems with his New Deal programs. Roosevelt openly endorsed labor unions as a way to unify American workers. Dionne points out that “American socialists often complained that Roosevelt had destroyed the possibilities of socialism in America by coping many of socialism’s most popular programs and by converting socialism’s potential constituency, the industrial workers, into Democrats”.

According to Dionne, however, the Keynesian economics practiced by the Democrats eventually had a negative impact of America. Although deflation was the primary concern during the 1930s, inflation was a serious concern in later years. Dionne argues that Republicans eventually used inflation as a weapon against the Democrats. According to Dionne, “Roosevelt’s policies seemed to work--- even if conservatives were right to complain that the war did more to end the Depression than the New Deal.”

The Vietnam War, according to Dionne, interrupted the prosperity and contentment of the 1950s. Many Americans began to lose faith in their government as they watched America’s young men die in Southeast Asia. Dionne points out that war protesters used college campuses and the nation’s capital as stages as “the young militants saw their enemy, and it was liberalism.” Many Americans believed the leaders of the United States valued the profits of American companies more than they valued the lives of America’s young men.

According to Dionne, the Watergate scandal played a considerable role in helping to bolster America’s distrust of its government. Many Americans adopted “the view that the leaders of America’s democratic republic constituted a criminal band” according to Dionne. The libertarian party began to flourish as a political alternative during the 1970s. According to Dionne, many Americans saw the government as part of the overall problem rather than part of the solution.

Dionne believes that America’s disenchantment with its leaders continued during the Reagan years. Dionne argues that Reagan’s supply-side economics failed because the government failed to curtail spending after the 1981 tax cut. He points out that much of Reagan’s support came from Jerry Farwell and the Moral Majority. The Moral Majority and many Americans, however, found their goals ultimately unrealized at the end of Reagan’s last term according to Dionne.

America’s total disillusionment with politics was profoundly obvious in the second part of George Bush’s term in 1991 according to Dionne. He points out that “the savings-and-loan crisis is a good example of why Americans have come to hate politics so.” Although most Americans supported the Gulf War efforts, they were dissatisfied with Bush’s handling of the economy. “Voters expect the government to do something, especially in times of economic stress”, argues Dionne, but Bush stood by and denied there was a problem as the economy plummeted.

E. J. Dionne, Jr.’s “Why Americans Hate Politics” points out exactly why Americans hate politics with a passion. Dionne argues that politics “has become an elaborate insider industry in which those skilled at fund-raising, polling, media relations, and advertising have the upper hand.” Americans hate politics because it has nothing to do with what really matters. While politicians argued over the Religious Right and the death penalty, Japan and Germany conquered an ever-increasing share of the American market. While Michael Dukakis and George Bush argued over the release of Willie Horton, the savings and loan industry headed for total collapse leaving the American taxpayers to pay the bill. While liberals and conservatives argued over useless issues that meant little to America, Americans paid an ever-increasing price for health care. While politicians debated the handling of the Vietnam War, communism collapsed, Cuba retreated into a docile existence, and a new and much more dangerous enemy lurked in the underbrush of American society. As Dionne put it, “Americans hate politics as it is now practiced because we have lost all sense of the public good.”

When Henry Hyde and the House Republicans crossed to the Senate side of the Capitol on December 19, 1998, it represented the complete disembodiment of America’s trust in Congress, the president, and the American political system as a whole. The investigation that started as a probe into the dealings of the Whitewater Development Company eventually turned into a political witch-hunt that ultimately scarred American politics for years to come. While Congress played political hardball with the Constitution, America’s real issues went unchallenged and unsolved. The dirty politics practiced by both Republicans and Democrats placed the United States on the world’s comedy stage and the America political system was the biggest joke of all.

The death of Deputy White House Council Vince Foster unleashed a shroud of suspicion that engulfed the Clinton White House in 1993. The Republicans took every opportunity to exploit the suspicious circumstances surrounding Foster’s death. Ironically, Linda Tripp was one of the last people to see Foster alive. Foster’s death, however, was only a precursor of things to come. Tripp eventually played a major role in the deterioration of the Clinton Presidency.

The Travelgate and Filegate scandals of 1993 eventually became full-blown media frenzies. Republicans believed that both Travelgate and Filegate involved numerous criminal acts. Both Democrats and Republicans saw fit to twist the facts related to the scandals and in turn tarnished the American political system. Travelgate and Filegate, however, gave way to the Whitewater scandal and more dirty politics.
The Whitewater scandal evolved into the Kenneth Starr investigation in 1994. Starr’s investigation started with the Whitewater Development Company, but ended up taking many turns during the course of four years. Clinton was the first president to have his sex life scrutinized and exemplified on the evening news in a feat that utterly embarrassed the nation. Starr’s investigation may have been justified, but the American public saw the Starr investigation as nothing more than a partisan attempt to remove a popular president. Any attempts to embarrass Clinton into resignation failed, however, and he continued to defy the Republican Party.

Clinton practiced his own special brand of dirty politics that involved womanizing, unwanted sexual advances, and marriage infidelities. Partisan politics and political cover-ups were business-as-usual in the Clinton White House. Bill Clinton could have been one of America’s greatest presidents, but his utter lack of character and self-control ultimately rendered his presidency a total disaster. Clinton’s blatant disrespect for the American legal system will forever be seen as just another reason why Americans distrust politicians.

During the 104th Congress, dirty politics played a significant role in day-to-day activities. The House Republicans lead by Newt Gingrich attempted to carry out their “Contract with America”. Many Americans, however, considered the Republican plan to be a “Contract on America” instead. Democrats vowed to stop Gingrich and the House Republicans in their tracks. Much of the “Contract with America” centered around cuts to popular social programs and it ultimately faced fierce competition from both Democrats and Republicans in the Senate. Gingrich and the House Republicans were eventually defeated in their efforts and the political gap between Republicans and Democrats widened considerably.

The failure of the House Republicans to pass the “Contract with America” was a significant factor in their relentless pursuit of the Clinton impeachment. House Republicans shirked all other responsibilities, believing they had the backing of the American people, and pursued the Clinton impeachment with an astonishing level of determination. While significant issues such as national security, Social Security reform, and health care reform remained unsolved, Kenneth Starr and the House Republicans set out to make an example of Clinton. Clinton, however, set out to deny all charges and partisan politics took center stage.

As Congress paraded Clinton’s sex life through the media, foreign leaders and terrorist organizations took notice. American politicians appeared inept and foolish as the impeachment proceedings played out like a poorly written soap opera. As witnesses revealed details of illicit sexual encounters in the nation’s Capitol, America’s president appeared to be foolish and incompetent. The American people saw through most of the dirty politics surrounding the Clinton impeachment, however, and voted their true feelings in the 1998 congressional election. Although Congress made an example out of Bill Clinton, the American people and the Democratic Party made examples out of the House Republicans. The Clinton impeachment, however, left the United States tarnished in the eyes of many foreign leaders.

Most Americans were not surprised to find out that several of the House Republicans were themselves guilty of the same crimes and activities that plagued Bill Clinton. House Majority Whip Tom Delay reportedly lied in a court deposition regarding his association with a pesticide company. Henry Hyde and Bob Livingston both admitted marriage infidelities. Bob Barr and Newt Gingrich, it was later discovered, had been involved in numerous questionable activities. The Democratic Party helped to illuminate the Republican’s misgivings.

The Clinton impeachment was just the continuation of years of underhanded and deceptive political practices initiated by both Democrats and Republicans. Professional politicians find it much easier to slander their opponents rather than address the issues for which they have few answers. Political debates often involve slanderous personal attacks that have nothing to do with the real issues. When ask about their platforms, most professional politicians talk about the negative points of their opponent’s platform instead.

The American political system is in total disarray as professional politicians trade freedom, liberty, and justice for a chance at reelection. While Democrats and Republicans calculate ways to gain control of the House and Senate, America’s enemies calculate ways to undermine the American way of life. While elected officials contemplate ways to discredit their opponents, small foreign governments work tirelessly to develop weapons of mass destruction. Politicians often forget that Americans want solutions to problems and not just political babble. Americans want politicians to get down to business and address the issues that really matter. Americans want not more complications, but realistic answers and viable plans of action. Americans want and need leaders, not just politicians. Without leaders willing to put politics aside and face the difficult choices, the American democracy will surely fail.