“This was the moment, this was the time when we came together to remake this great nation so that it may always reflect our very best selves and our highest ideals.”
-Barack Obama
Remake? This is the statement of someone who, in his heart of hearts, as in the hearts of his associates, Jeremiah Wright, Father Pfleger, Bill Ayers, Michelle Obama, believes that America sucks. As one who, for most of his adult life, shared their belief, I can say, along with Michelle, that only in the past few years, for the first time in my life, I am proud of my country. I am proud of my country, not because Obama has been nominated, well partly that too, but because my country is, and always has been, since its founding, worthy of pride and respect and devotion, and I only recently realized it.
Obama got the vote of the half of the Democratic Party that believes that America sucks. They believe it so fervently that they turned out for the caucuses in large numbers. Hillary Clinton received the votes of the slightly more than half of the Democratic Party that still doesn’t believe that America sucks. Very few Republicans believe that America sucks. I’m not sure how independents split, but I suspect somewhere around 50-50. Barack Obama has the America sucks vote sewed up, but that’s it, those are pretty much the only votes he is going to get. If I am correct, then the general election popular vote should split approximately 1/3 Obama, 2/3 McCain.
Now it probably won’t be that extreme. Obama is young and beautiful, McCain is old, and stiff from torture he endured as a Communist POW. That will swing some votes Obama’s way from the same young people who vote for The American Idol, so I expect the percentages will be more like 45/55, rather than 33/67. But that’s still a landslide.
I have never been a great election prognosticator, so it will not be a surprise if it turns out that I’m wrong. But if Obama actually wins this election, I will be very downhearted, and I will tremble for the future of my country, and for the world that depends on the United States of America for its future.
I could be wrong about that too. Obama’s ambition and cynicism, and skepticism about America might just possibly yield to the crushing responsibility of the Presidency, as it has done for many others in our history. Let us pray.
Don’t worry, be happy.
If you like war and domestic violence as the solution to our world’s problems, then you should vote for McCain…He’ll probably deliver more death and debt…Then again, I don’t really think you’d like more violence in your life directly, would you?
Anyway, it’s a beautiful day out here in So Co and we’re going to the Health and Harmony Festival and trip out!
Take Care y’all!
You know, John, I think you take a way too cynical and sarcastic approach towards anything that might threaten your ‘world view’…In fact, I see this as a great defense mechanism from a lot of people who want to defend ‘their thoughts’…in fact, I find it corrosive to have such strong attachments to ideas that are in your head and not willing to be flexible…maybe this is a Capricorn problem, but I think it is more about comfort with ones own ideas, because if the scenario doesn’t play out the way you’d like it, then you can blame ‘the other’ for weakness and not your own possibility that your opinions might not hold water in the long run…history isn’t always the arbiter of truth…otherwise, I think we’d still be burning witches…oh, I forgot, people still get incarcerated for trying to enjoy themselves…
anyway, i enjoy reading your stuff…hope to see you on the Left Coast soon!