The word "spin" used to have a negative connotation in the US when in reference to news reporting. It seems now that it has been fulling accepted as something that will just happen, regardless. Spin is a form of political marketing. When politicians and pundits repeat the same idea or phrase over and over, "yellow cake uranium" as a "ticking time-bomb" leading up to the Iraq war comes to mind. Point is, our politics in the US has become less about what "is" and more about what "is believed." It's all marketing. Reagan, Clinton and Obama have all been marketed to us independent of actual accomplishments, political philosophies or decisions made in office. For a large swath of the population, history is a bumper sticker. Great article.
Yes, absolutely. I couldn't agree more. In America, politics has become something of an ideology, in the traditional sense of the word: a means of disguising what is otherwise a failing democracy. Charlie Bertsch is great. American political commentary, like this, is his forte.