About this election thing. Color me depressed/worried/fatalistic/tired/ready to go hide somewhere. In case you don’t already know this about me, I’m a proud Conservative. Note, I did not say “Republican” nor did I imply that I’m a “compassionate” conservative or any such nonsense as that. I’m bummed because no matter WHO wins in November, we’re in for a rough ride, from my point of view.
What we’ve got here…is a bloody mess. The Republicans managed to allow the media to hand-pick their candidtate. Remember, McCain was all but dead. Then whats-her-name got whacked in Packistan, and all of a sudden, the media (Fox News included) started a steady drumbeat of “McCain’s the only candidate with international experience,” and “McCain knows how to handle international crises such as this.” Comes the Florida primary, and McCain is reborn, and his candidacy thrives. That was a perfect storm between Guilliani blowing off the early states for a “winner-take-all” strategy in Florida, Fred Thompson doing his Rip Van Winkle impression, and Mitt “Ken doll” Romney’s inability to articulate why anybody would want to vote for him.
Then the Dems fell to the far-left wingnuts of the MoveOn.org/George Sorros crowd, and nominated somebody who is actually to the LEFT of Ted Kennedy. Even better, the guy is a tabula rasa – he’s a card-carrying liberal, but he’s done so little in his career, he’s got little of a record to run away from.
So we’ve got to choose between a way-left-of-left liberal and a moderate liberal in GOP-clothing.
I’m in Hell.
Where’s Reagan when you need him? The closest thing we had this year to a Reagan was Fred Thompson. First national candidate I ever gave money to in a primary. He didn’t last until Texas – never got a chance to vote for him. My wife (who spent years in D.C. working for Reagan as well as in Austin working for our legislature, and therefore knows a thing or three about campaigns) said that Thompson was waiting to get in later, so he could avoid having to spend so much money in the early primaries. That strategy might have worked even just four years ago – but not in the age of sound byte e-journalism, where your candidacy is the Next Big Thing one week, and immediately doomed the following week (which is exactly what happened to Fred).
So…now what? I’m holding out hope that McCain picks a running mate that will be somebody I can get excited about. Should he win, I have my doubts McCain can live through the rigors of a four-year term, much less stand for reelection. If he loses – then we bloody well sure better find Reaganesque candidates and groom them to take over what’s left of the country after the left decimates it.
See you on the hustings…
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