Fresh Faces for the Future

After soaring into our hearts, Gabby Douglas will soon be transported from gold medals to the pinnacle of sports success, her image on a box of breakfast cereal.

No reward is too great for a young American who, along with so many others, has taken our eyes and minds, however briefly, away from the faces of tired old men who dominate TV screens with vitriol and venom.

For a while we can switch channels from politicians bashing one another over Chick-Fil-A to the sight of an unspoiled generation with, in the words of the President’s weekly address, the “American spirit that says even though we may have very different stories to tell, even though we may not look alike or talk alike or be dealt the same hand in life--if we work hard, we can achieve our dreams.”

Working hard is not the Washington ethos this summer. The Olympic event there in an election year, on everything from lifting the economy to keeping government running, is “kicking the can down the road” to avoid “falling off the fiscal cliff.”

As Election Day nears, their exertions will no doubt set new records for distance and time, if not style.

Meanwhile, for a few more days, their constituents can watch the Olympics and lull themselves into believing that “the American spirit” is alive and well.  

Is it too soon to start campaigning for Gabby Douglas, Michael Phelps and their teammates to run for Congress?