From the American Prospect:

Today that language of civic sacrifice resonates even more powerfully, after eight years of conservative rule grounded in talk about the virtues of free markets and self-interest. Carter’s vision of humbled leadership and engaged citizenship also contrasts nicely with the hubris of George W. Bush. A vision of government and citizens working together to overcome a crisis might offer progressives a way to set realistic expectations about what government can and cannot do.

The epic failures of the Bush administration have provided us with a unique and complicated opportunity. Simply there are so many concurrent problems demanding our attention it can be difficult to focus. The economy. Foreign affairs. Rebuilding New Orleans (still!). The budget. Health care. It can overwhelm even a dedicated citizen.

Thirty years of anti-government rhetoric has deeply undermined our national character. It’s the equivalent of negative self-talk – tell yourself your will fail at something and chances are good you will. Good government is not accidental, it is a choice and bad government is equally a choice.

During World War Two, FDR shrewdly insisted that all citizens make sacrifices – and everyone made those sacrifices. Not always willingly or even gladly but they were shared universally (with the obvious caveats that there’s always a way around the rules). During the War, Congress actively maintained investigations and constant reviews to verify that government contractors were not engaging in corrupt and dishonest practices. Everyone was subject to rationing – of food, gasoline, certain articles of clothing. Back in the day, my mother had a number of WWII items in the antique store, including ration books and a more somber item – a telegram from the War Department telling a family their son was lost in battle – lost as in missing in action. FDR called on Americans to sacrifice – all Americans to sacrifice something. I forget the exact language he used but he said something like “Some of us will be called upon to give up our lives in the fight for democracy.” The key idea though that allowed Americans to make those sacrifices was their universality. (Rationing actually served two purposes – the first was to preserve goods and material for the war effort and second to see to it that everyone got their fair share.)

Despite being largely dismissed, Jimmy Carter’s misnamed Malaise Speech was a similar call for national sacrifice. And Americans responded – Carter’s approval ratings jumped a remarkable 11 percent after the speech; subsequent maladroit actions by Carter wasted was should have been a profound opportunity. Americans were ready to follow Carter – to embrace the kind of civic sacrifice and return to authenticity, honesty and integrity to which he called Americans. Carter demonstrated in that speech a kind of moral leadership which for a long time we in the US have largely missed.

In one of his books, James Carville tells a story of speaking at a Democratic conference or gathering of some sort and at the time, he believed Democrats needed to be inspired. He delivered a barnstorming speech about rallying the troops about uniting and making a change and supporting . . . the Transgender Amendment. As he tells it, the crowd responded powerfully – cheering, applauding, practically tearing the room apart they were so thrilled to have an inspiring call to do something.

Among the keenest and most bitter failures of the Bush era was the colossally disappointing failure of our leaders from almost any corner of the nation to call us to be better citizens. Secretly, I think many of us hoped that our callow, unserious fratboy president would mature in the face of a crisis, that he would prove equal to the challenges facing him; it is a national tragedy that he did not. That missed opportunity is as keenly disappointing as almost anything else that has happened in the last decade.

There is a similar hunger for that kind of leaderhip in America. Barack Obama struck a chord with Americans in 2008 who are hungry, starving for leaders who inspire us, who call us to be better citizens than we are, who strive to unite us around a shared vision. The democrat in me (small d democrat) balks at the notion that those leaders must be our national leaders. Our city, county and state leaders can also be these inspirational leaders. I believe Americans are starving for a leadership which invites us to sacrifice for the common good. We want to make the world a better place than it is. It’s time for us to become better citizens and to demand our leader become better leaders.