Both the Right and the Left in Oregon have posted their top 10 political stories for 2006.
At NW Republican the post "Top 10 'Insider' Political Events in Oregon for 2006" lists: (1) Jesse Cornett for State Senate, (2) NW Republican and BlueOregon, (3) Karen Minnis vs Rob Dick (Brading),(4) Wayne Scott, Majority Leader, 2007, (5) Jason Atkinson for Governor, (6) The State Of Hawaii, (7) Oregon Initiatives, (8) Ross Day for Judge, (9) The Death of Local Tax Efforts, and (10) The Influence of Non-Oregonians.
At BlueOregon the post "What were the political stories of 2006?" lists about 21 possiblities, from the "re-election of Governor Kulongoski" through "the sudden rise to power of Oregon's Democratic Congressional delegation."
What both lists missed, and what future historian will note, is that in Oregon there was little discussion of the rise of China and India, much less proposals framed directly to deal with such issues.
Thomas Friedman wrote (NY Times, 11/12/06): "I still believe that when the history of this era is written, the trend historians will cite as the most significant will not be 9/11 and the US invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq. It will be the rise of China and India."
Or as Clyde Prestowitz put it: "We are living at a moment of historic change. Winston Churchill talked about the hinge of history and how the hinge of history sometimes takes a big swing. We are at a moment of a big swing in the hinge of history...."
So, while I understand their distractions from the central trends of our times, I would add to both their lists "Oregon continues to fail to recognize and confront the challenges of the rise of China and India." The issues are just not the stuff of insider politics. And, when insider politics are remote from a big issue, our state and nation are in trouble over time.
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