One of the most powerful cultural metaphors we possess is the image of the frog in the kettle. But there is one problem with the metaphor. We know when the frog entered the kettle, he was still alive. We also know that when the water rose to a boil the frog was dead. The problem is this: the moment of death is difficult to determine. Unless a competent coroner - and boy are they expensive - continuously examines the frog, the moment of death remains a mystery. The further problem is that this fact of uncertainty gives false hope that the frog will somehow find it in his strength to jump out. Many Americans are standing squarely on this false hope today. As disappointed as they may be in "hope and change," as foolishly committed as they are to standing by watching the most extraordinary country in human history be "fundamentally transformed," many Americans still believe the Obama administration is "not all that bad." They may not want to "change horses in mid-stream" or they may not...(Read Full Post)