Regarding Jennifer Rubin's Oct. 11 Washington Post opinion article, "The curtain falls on the U.S. left's forced exuberance," Rubin takes U.S. President Barack Obama's lackluster performance in the first presidential debate and runs with it; taking a mile where she was given an inch. The biggest problem with this article, however, is that it calls Obama and the Democratic Party the U.S. left, and only offers the Republican Party as the alternative.
The U.S. two-party system has produced two parties that have both failed to govern effectively, a broken system where nothing gets done, and a political system perpetually in the throes of partisan gridlock. The Democratic Party is not a leftist party. In fact, it shares many of the same views as the Republican Party. While people get upset over social issues like abortion, gay rights and taxes, many ignore that both parties have sold us (Americans) down the river. Both parties voted for massive bank bailouts while Americans were being thrown from their homes. Both parties voted to squander over a trillion dollars in pointless and illegal wars in the Middle East. Both parties support and uphold cutthroat capitalism that has produced the largest wealth gap in the OECD. Both parties have been bought by corporations, lobbying firms and special interest groups.
The American system of government is not working. The problem isn't that the U.S. left has been overexuberant, the problem is that the U.S. left has been missing in action. To really solve the complex problems the U.S. faces, it needs a change in government form. The current system has already proved that it can't handle the job; open up the American political system, and let other parties have a fighting chance.
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.