one month until more of the same
Saturday 4 October 2008 | 4 cookies in the jar
A fearless prediction: My beautiful election enters its dark phase.
The Obama campaign has been one of real dignity and cool, and in this it reflected its candidate. It won’t be good to see this end. It will be sad, actually.
A final thought. Do you ever have the passing thought that the presidential election doesn’t matter as much as we think? Whoever wins will govern within more of less the same limits, both domestically and internationally. A New York liberal leaning toward Mr. McCain told me this week he has no fear that Mr. McCain may be a more militant figure than Mr. Obama. We already have two wars, “we’re out of army.” Even if Mr. McCain wanted a war, he said, he couldn’t start one.
I wonder if we follow the election so passionately because we’re afraid. We’re afraid a lot of our national problems are intractable, and the future too full of challenge.
We cannot tolerate feeling this way. So we make believe the election can change everything. And we follow it passionately to convince ourselves its outcome will be decisive and make everything better. We reassure ourselves with pictures of the cheering crowds at the rally. We even find some comfort in the latest story of the latest dirty trick. But deep inside we think: Ah, that won’t work either.
Some part of me thinks we are all making believe this is a life-changing election because we know it’s not a life-changing election. Ever have that thought? Me too. Then there’s a rally or a scandal or a gaffe, and it passes. (Peggy Noonan for the WSJ)
4 cookies in the jar
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Thanks, Un. And I was feeling so good. I’m heading right back to make believe land just as soon as I can shake off this little reminder of the way things really are.
Uplifting, innit? ;o) Oh, and hey, thank you for including me in life, the universe and everything!!! I’m honored. I desperately need to update my blogroll, not least because right now I too have been guilty of using oleoptene not only for literary stimulation but also as some kind of RSS substitute…. :o(
And when archeologists translate the hieroglyphs they read: “The Pharoah’s screwing up, everything’s going to Duat in a handbasket & the kids got no respect these days.” Having personally survived Potus #33 thru Potus #43, to date, how much worse could be the reign of #44 in light of the virtual inability to govern demonstrated daily by 2 of the 3 branches of govt.? Better to imitate Candide and “cultivate our own garden.” (?)
Oh man, please be right…please be right….
The Pharoahs had one or two things on the Potusii, of course—e.g., they didn’t get many chances to sit on their royal thumbs while gleefully allowing corporate greed to turn the entire populated world into a playground for hypercanes and hemorrhagics—but bien sûr, it’s always wise to cultivate our own homely patches o’ weeds.
Just make sure you stockpile the water! ;o)
(PS–Duat, hahahahaha!)