Editor's Page
Walzer, Michael
WE ARE IN THE middle of the most politically gripping Democratic primary campaign in recent memory, and, with a lead time of almost two months, there is nothing that we can say about it that...
...Until now, his fate was unlearned, but Dreier and Vrabel describe the unsuccessful political campaign for which the song was written and then give an account of its later popularity and success...
...We are not permitted by the rules of tax-exempt educational foundations to endorse a candidate, but we wouldn't be capable of doing that anyway...
...What aspects should we criticize...
...n When the primary season is over, we will attempt to analyze the character and extent of the divisions that it has produced—in the feminist movement, in the labor movement, and among civil rights activists and African American politicians and intellectuals...
...It does make a difference who wins, even if we can't agree on what precisely the difference is...
...WE ARE IN THE middle of the most politically gripping Democratic primary campaign in recent memory, and, with a lead time of almost two months, there is nothing that we can say about it that will be readable or relevant when this issue of Dissent reaches our subscribers...
...Although Dissent cannot participate in the campaigns, it can reflect upon them after the fact, which is the best way of preparing for campaigns to come...
...Asking these questions is also a way to prepare ourselves for political opportunities to come...
...Still, we are not hostile to electoral engagement in the way the old, old left was, when militants thought that elections were a bourgeois trick...
...Though Walter O'Brien's politics were not my own at the time, or since, it is very pleasant to remember those years when the left was singing...
...What aspects of '60s politics should we celebrate...
...A couple of them remind us of one moment in 1968 that has great relevance today: when Hubert Humphrey lost to Richard Nixon, in part at least because many liberals and leftists, angry at Gene McCarthy's defeat, mourning Robert Kennedy's assassination, refused to vote for him...
...M.W...
...We asked them of a group of people old enough to remember the '60s, who were engaged in different organizations and activities, in different countries...
...n Meanwhile, we are looking further back, to 1968, a crucial year in the history of the left—and also of the right, which has been in power almost continuously since that time...
...n We also feature in this issue a long and delightful essay by Peter Dreier and Jim Vrabel that deals with political history and popular music—the full story, never before told, of how Charlie got on the MTA and never, never returned...
...Needless to say, the editorial board is divided between supporters of Clinton and of Obama (some in each camp started out as supporters of Edwards...
Vol. 55 • April 2008 • No. 2
