But, hey, this is politics - not economics or equity - and specifically the
politics of envy, which flourishes in inverse proportion to prosperity. Look
for more of the same as times get meaner. Bad times are the health of bad
ideas. And false choices.
Which candidate will settle for nothing less than victory on what he
considers the central front in the war against terror, whether Iraq or
Afghanistan? Which foresaw and fought for the adoption of a new and
successful strategy in Iraq, and does that matter if it's Afghanistan that's
the real central front? And how realistic is it to reduce American strategy
to a choice between abandoning one or the other?
Which candidate has a strategy for the future, and which is more interested
in finding scapegoats? Speaking of which, has George W. Bush - come to
think, he's still president of the United States - ever done a single thing
right in his life? Like preventing another major terrorist attack on these
shores for the past seven years, or seeing the war in Iraq through to the
cusp of victory despite many a terrible blunder, or ending Saddam Hussein's
genocidal reign there, or giving his secretary of the Treasury and chairman
of the Federal Reserve a green light to do whatever's necessary to stop the
current economic slide - or are both presidential candidates so intent on
separating themselves from an unpopular president that they dare not
acknowledge all that?
Which candidate would risk saying a single unpopular thing in this campaign
for no better reason than he believes it?
As this election grinds on, voters will have their own questions to pose.
And they'll doubtless be as rhetorical as mine.
Rhetoric is one thing, reason another. There are times when John McCain
seems to be running against an unpopular Democratic leadership in Congress,
with its earmarks and toxic twins (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac). There are
other times when Barack Obama doesn't seem to be running against his
opponent but against George W. Bush, who isn't on the ballot this year.
Logic has little to do with politics, especially in an election year, when
winning tends to become the only goal. In the mounting urgency of a
campaign, who's got time or energy to waste making sense?
Another presidential debate is over. Another awaits. So does History.
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