Kerby Anderson

The announced departure of House Speaker Paul Ryan brought lots of commentary, but one that deserves more attention is how his exit illustrates the desire of the American public to jettison adulthood. Andrew Cline says that “America is done with adults like Paul Ryan. Donald Trump and celebrities are the future.” He reminds us that Paul Ryan was introduced to the country as a young policy wonk with a head full of Austrian economics. That apparently wasn’t what America was looking for. The rise of youth culture is the reason the least “cool” candidate has always lost the presidential election (from Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale in the 1980s to George Bush and Bob Dole in the 1990s to the recent losses of John McCain and Mitt. Romney). “The combination of youth culture and 21^st century technology has made attention the currency of the moment. Sober, calm, and judicious are out. Loud, obnoxious, and incessant are in.” That is why Donald Trump defeated Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, and Ted Cruz in the Republican primaries. One research study concluded that the 2016 election was “extremely light on policy.” Instead, it was driven by clickbait. You don’t get lots of coverage by going on C-SPAN with a PowerPoint presentation on tax policy or health care policy. You get attention with tweets and verbal slams. Cline explained, “Sober, dignified figures such as Paul Ryan are at a double disadvantage in this new era . . . To paraphrase Sean Connery in The Untouchables, they bring a pie chart to a knife fight.” This is a sad, but probably accurate, assessment of the state of American politics today. As voters and citizens, we should demand more from our candidates and politicians. Unfortunately, we are willing to settle for so much less.