Why Business People Run the Nation

I was recently forwarded a link to a story by my good friend at BusinessLit  on Silicon Beat entitled,

John Doerr has gone half-Green; gets word to President

confirming that I'm on the right track believing that Iowa and the Midwest in general are going to become Ethanol Alley , attracting funding, seeing technology businesses blossom, and watching masses of tanned folks flock inward from the coasts only to make my perfect little home town of Des Moines Iowa a congested mess.  OK, I'm stretching a bit here...but the likelihood of this transformation looms greater every day.  I was completely floored that the Sand Hill Road deity John Doerr has possibly shaped the future of the US:

"Turns out, Doerr and his team were responsible for getting the "end-oil-addiction" wording inserted into President Bush's state-of-the-union address. We had no idea how accurate we were with our headline at the time: "Bush echoes Silicon Valley's Doerr -- It could be the stalk" (stalk referring to the stalk of corn, for ethanol)."

Of course there's profit to be had for Doerr and Kleiner-Perkins but that's what we do here in this wonderful place that we've been blessed to be born in (or hopefully legally immigrated to).  We see problems (social, political, environmental, transactional, emotional). We dream up new technologies to address them (blogs, incentives, systems, databases, marketplaces), and we PROFIT from them!  Doerr and Company have been paving the way for innovation by providing capital and talent for a long time and I believe they're on the cusp of making a global impact that will be felt for generations.  If you think that's a bold statement, look over Kleiner's history of disruptive technology funding. 

With every passing day, I'm becoming more and more hopeful about our chances for reaching a new equilibrium here in the US where we thrive on the spirit of American innovation and self-reliance that would make our founders proud.  (Cue the music and forgive the MIDI).  Now grab some tissues and reflect on how lucky you are.  Amen.