An interesting comment from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg over the weekend in a conversation he had with the Wall Street Journal during his trip to Hong Kong.
The message to his fellow Americans, in short: Stop blaming the Chinese for everything.
‘If you look at the US, you look at who we’re electing to Congress, to the Senate—they can’t read,’ he was quoted as saying. ‘I’ll bet you a bunch of these people don’t have passports. We’re about to start a trade war with China if we’re not careful here…only because nobody knows where China is. Nobody knows what China is.’
Of course he’s right. Witches aside, the apparently growing inclination among US political candidates to view ignorance as some kind of badge of pride is a worrying, ugly and ultimately self-destructive trend for the country.
Is the US centre, then, longing for someone who can rise above the increasingly bitter partisanship, who can ensure the United States steers a steady, moderate and enlightened course—including in its dealings with its key strategic partners/competitors?
Bloomberg must be sorely tempted to find out.