Does Jon Ossoff's "America Good" Message Make Him a Political Genius?

Honestly: Maybe!

I want to talk about Jon Ossoff, but first, I have to disclose this connection: My wife went to junior high with Ossoff. And yes, I have dirt on him: There are unconfirmed reports that he had a Jimmy Neutron lunch box, which a source with knowledge of the situation described as “hella lame”. He was also in a production of Into the Woods, and my source reports that his performance lacked a certain spark. I don’t know if these revelations doom his presidential chances — let me reiterate that the Jimmy Neutron lunch box is unconfirmed — but journalistic integrity compels me to disclose those ties.¹

Anyway: Ossoff recently went viral with this clip.

IMHO, this is good stuff. Uniting, positive — kind of like if you typed “Obama me hard in the face” into Chat GPT. And Ossoff’s media team upped the leadership vibes by giving him the “hero’s framing”, i.e. shot from the ground up. Look at this angle — is a toddler holding this camera? Ten degrees lower and we’d be able to see his crotch inseam.

As much as I like this clip, I’ll concede that it’s not mind-blowing. It’s a clear and articulate rebuke of Stephen Miller-esque blood and soil nationalism, but a fair response would be “Sure — now what else?” The leftist retort would be that it’s easy to tell happy stories about American exceptionalism while literally trillions of Americans are starving to death every day (also: Gaza!)! Personally, I’d call that response a wee bit overcooked, but I’d agree that a broad statement about America’s character does not constitute a platform.

But — counterpoint to the counterpoint — that clip did go viral. It scratches an itch for somebody. So, maybe it’s time to consider the possibility that our discourse is such an open biohazard pit that “America good” counts as a bold and refreshing political statement.

MAGA is ambivalent at best about the American project. They like the US when the US is a sports team (US women’s soccer team excepted), but they’re openly hostile to things that many people would consider foundational American ideals. Obviously: Respecting the electoral process is not Trump’s bag, baby. MAGA is hostile to the pluralistic ideas in Ossoff’s speech, even though this country’s founding documents are explicitly universalist, and expanding American identity to include ever-more groups is a key part of the American story. MAGA — like many right-leaning movements — likes the “paradise lost” narrative, which is: The country was great, but it was ruined by sissies and beatniks. And that’s why America needs to be made great again. It’s impossible to marinate in “crumbling city” narratives and “this is what they took from you” memes for as long as some Republicans have and still believe that America is exceptional.

Of course, parts of the left are openly hostile to America. I’ve written at length about how every leftist narrative is some version of “Amerikkka sux”, and how some forms of activism are just expressions of anti-social tendencies. The doomerist rhetoric of a left-populist like Graham Platner is extremely similar to Stephen Miller’s “American carnage” vision of America — they agree that things are really bad! And included in the anti-establishment, burn-it-all-down viewpoint is the notion that things are irredeemably bad, which is why the people, institutions, and ideas that led us here need to be replaced.

In this political climate, simply saying “America good” arguably counts as really saying something. It contrasts Ossoff with Trump — which you would expect from a Democrat — but also tells us what kind of Democrat Ossoff wants to be. And as much as Ossoff is repudiating Trump, he’s repudiating the “race is everything” views of the woke era — he’s returning to Obama’s call for color-blindness. It’s a conservative message (“back to foundational principles”) in service of a liberal idea (“anyone can be American”). And that’s possible because some liberal ideas have been part of America for so long that it’s possible to “RETVRN” to them.

So, I think it’s fair to call this clip elemental and incomplete…but not trite. It would have been trite ten years ago. Now, it’s a good starting point for a candidate looking to introduce himself to the country. It’s worth remembering that for most people, their nationality is part of their identity, and “we are garbage” isn’t what they want to hear. Anyone arguing that Ossoff’s words aren’t new is correct, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not refreshing.

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1. My wife wanted me to include this footnote: She did go to junior high with Ossoff, only knew him a little, but thought that he was cool and nice. I made up the stuff about the lunchbox and his performance in the play (though he was in that play!).