It’s been said there are only two basic story macro-plots: “the hero goes on a journey” and a “stranger comes to town.” Likewise, there might be only two basic political campaign macro-themes: “you’ve never had it so good” and “it’s time for a change.”

So, understanding the latter, I’m not shocked at the downbeat tone of the Republican presidential debate earlier this week. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, for instance, frequently mentioned America’s supposed “decline,” while businessman Vivek Ramaswamy said we are living in a “dark moment.”

Yet even discounting for the typical harrowing hyperbole of the political challenger, that negativity was all a bit too much.

[Count me among the “dark moment” pessimists. When the US government enlists tech platforms to perform covert censorship and suppression of dissent, when the US president abandons thousands of Americans to the Taliban, and when the Department of Justice conducts full-on SWAT raids against a pro-life demonstrator over a sidewalk argument while attempting to get the president’s son off scot-free over tax fraud and firearms charges, I’m not jollied much by a decent economic potential in the short term. However, James does offer some necessary balance to our overall assessment. — Ed]