Changing America - Conservatism costs us dear

AMERICA’S president-elect, Barack Obama, continues to surprise.

Even though the appointment of Hillary Clinton as secretary of state has been flagged for some weeks her elevation is in stark contrast to what a defeated candidate could expect in our political culture. Mr Obama’s reappointment of defence secretary Robert Gates would be unimaginable in our tribal system.

Making the announcements in Chicago yesterday he emphasised that “the time has come for a new beginning, a new dawn of American leadership to overcome the challenges of the 21st century.”

While all of this is going on our politicians are divided along lines formed almost a century ago, when our great-grandfathers fought each other.

Every day the consequences of this tribal split are still evident. They are evident in the lack of any inspiring talent, especially in the second tier of our main political parties. They are evident in the growing apathy towards politics and the system’s capacity to deliver real change.

We are indeed paying too high a price for our inherited conservatism.