AP: Faith Lost

The normally left-leaning Associated Press has an amazing quote suggesting that they are, at long last, picking up the mood of the country. This was written by Ron Fournier, Washington bureau chief for The Associated Press:

Nobody led. Not the president of the United States. Not the chief executive of BP. Not Congress, federal agencies or local elected officials. From its fiery beginning, the Gulf oil spill has stood as a concentrated reminder of why, over four decades, Americans have lost faith in nearly every national institution.

"Americans have lost faith in nearly every national institution" is as clear a statement of the Tea Party philosophy as I've heard, and from the AP too. The Tea Party (or something like it) is what happens when people have no faith in existing institutions. They are driven to get off their backsides to create a new one.