Obama said in his New Hampshire speech (made famous in this viral music video):

And so, tomorrow, as we take the campaign south and west, as we learn that the struggles of the textile workers in Spartanburg are not so different than the plight of the dishwasher in Las Vegas, that the hopes of the little girl who goes to the crumbling school in Dillon are the same as the dreams of the boy who learns on the streets of L.A., we will remember that there is something happening in America, that we are not as divided as our politics suggest, that we are one people, we are one nation.

This nationalistic nonsense is the most troubling thing about his campaign. Will Obama manage to make America’s youthful set as enamored of the US nation-state as ever? Will he bring back liberal faith in the imperial presidency? Will he make the under-30 crowd feel more democratically involved next time their government drops bombs on innocent foreigners?

My generation was for many years too trustful of the imperial executive, not having experienced the horrors of Vietnam in their lifetime. Bush II has done a great service, helping to turn my generation against war and the national government. Obama says we are not as divided as our politics leads us to think. If only we were actually politically divided in this country! If only we had some choice between radically different visions of governance!