So here's a little bit on the election: It's a good round up of debate-reaction over on Andrew Sullivan. The last blog post quoted by Sullivan is the most chilling. In it, a conservative notes that the silver lining of a loss this year would be that the Democrats will "own this mess." (Here's a link to the full post over on Beliefnet.)
My husband said something similar to me the other day but just on the other side. That is, he noted that if McCain won it wouldn't be the end of the world because these next four years are going to be so awful.
I responded that if McCain won the psychological/emotional toll on Democrats would be crushing, as would, I believe this country's international standing.
Plus, now that I think about it, it'll take a lot more than four years to rebuild the conservative movement. Let's face it, it's going to take more than four years for the conservatives to figure out how to get back into the driver's seat, and even then, could any fiscal conservative with a straight face really say that markets work best when left alone? If McCain's campaign has done anything, it has dragged the intellectual conservatives, those (ironically) who are for fiscal constraint and free markets, out of their extended liaison with social conservatives. The people who who are voting for McCain because of Palin are not the same as those who would have voted for him in spite of her. For years we've been reading about the power these strange bedfellows have generated. Now, that power is gone, crushed by so many sub-prime mortgages. Because whether your pro-choice or pro-creation, you still want your 401K to have some money in it when you retire.
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I turned the debate on a few minutes after 9:00, and had to flee screaming from the television by 9:12. Is it just because I've been following the campaign so long that everything that came out of both their mouths sounded like so much over-exposed mush? Here comes McCain accusing Obama of a nefarious plan to raise everyone's taxes. And wait for it, here's Obama saying that no, he's only raising taxes on the very rich. WTF? Has anyone not heard this before? Don't they both just sound like stubborn children? There is no way in a format like this to convince anybody that either man's claim is correct: the ultimate "he said, he said" with no way out. I went to watch an episode of "The West Wing" that I had o DVR. Ah, Jed Bartlett...
It's true the debate told us nothing new, but I think it showed us something. It showed, as many have said, Obama looking composed and leader-like. He seemed active and vigorous. McCain by comparison looked unhappy and annoyed and he said "My friends" so much that I started to feel like a 15 year old at a country club cocktail party - like when's he going to stop talking and where's the bar! The point is, McCain didn't seem vigorous and Obama did and I think since they weren't going to say anything new (pace McCain and his mortgage plan), it was important that they looked and acted the way they did. Also,Obama made an important point by jabbing at McCain and his temperment by reminding everyone of his "Bomb Bomb Bomb Iran" comment. Also, CNN had their cameras running in the room afterwards and McCain just left with Cindy. Barack (with a c!) and Michelle stayed and that too showed a much better attitude. McCain might be losing, but he did nothing to help himself last night --except that he avoided character assassination and for that he gets at least one prop.
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