POLITICS AND THE 2008 ELECTION

(sigh)

In listening to a few pundits following the Super Tuesday primaries, I couldn't help but be amused. Some of these folks I give credence; some, I do not. There were, of course, a like number of opinions to match the number of pundits verbalizing them. The truth is that no one knows what events will turn the tide in favor of one candidate or the other.


Today I heard someone state that if McCain were to be elected President that he would be a one-term President. The speculation is that his age and possibly health will render him electable only once. Then, of course, Romney would run in 2012. Now this is all very interesting, but as badly as I hate to say it, I believe the GOP is in serious long-term trouble. There is no Republican candidate today who can claim to be all of the following: a national defense proponent, a fiscal conservative, a protector of traditional values. One candidate or the other has shortcomings in one or more of those three areas. What does this tell us? That the GOP has unrealistically lofty expectations for its leaders and that none of the components of the party will ever be satisfied.


Now take the Dems. OMG. The only thing I see that they have going is that they are making history by having the first black to run a serious campaign and the first woman to throw her tam into the ring. Ok. So we'll acknowledge the historical aspects of this election but that's as far as it should go. Neither Obama nor Clinton has a handle on how to remedy the mess this country is in. In the past, the United States has tried to be all things to all people. Those days are over. We no longer have the ability or resources to effect a fix to the world's problems. Barack and Hillary should sit down and play patty-cake until they're grown up enough to play with the big kids.


Having recently returned from Savannah where I spent some time in a book store run by SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design), I couldn't help but be appalled at the proliferation of liberal literature in all sections of the store. Now you would expect a store catering to an artsy group of already-idealistic students to have mountains of liberal literature. But this was incredible. The biography section was full of books on both Clintons, Gore, Jimmy Carter, Obama, Rahm Emanuel. Their "green" section fronted with many copies of Gore's An Inconvenient Truth. Their political science section again had piles of Clinton's books and a myriad of readings on JFK, his presidency, the Bay of Pigs, etc. You get the picture. This was an interesting store, but I have to say I was disturbed by the lack of political diversity in their literature. But what can you expect with the media bashing Bush on a daily basis and cow-towing to anything in a blue state.


What this all boils down to is that we're up that well-known creek and there's no one around to paddle.


(sigh)