What's caused such a huge shift? I can attribute this 15+ swing to one thing: The public's reaction to Sarah Palin being vetted not by John McCain, but by the American media. When this virtual unknown was named as McCain's running mate, the media scrambled to find out anything about her, and given that a large part of the reporting was negative, this set the perfect stage for the comeback at the RNC. In the days following the announcement of Palin as his running mate, and the onslaught of criticism that followed, I was certain that this would ultimately play to the Republican's benefit. This was American Idol of campaign moments. Americans love a comeback story, and this is exactly what Sarah Palin represented. What were her qualifications? Eh, who cares. What does she stand for? Oh, what does it matter, she's got cool glasses!
My anger at the prospect of a McCain/Palin executive office seems to be subsiding of late. In the end, there's very little that I can do about this. I live in a country that elected George W. Bush, not once but twice. Why in the world should I expect that we'll elect an articulate, curious, altruistic and charismatic black man over a lying, hawkish, wealthy, white panderer. Fine, that's a bit of a biased take, but I can't for a second agree with an individual who can honestly claim that John McCain is better suited for the presidency right now than Barack Obama. It's not even close. But I am but one of about 110 million Americans likely to vote. And in the end, if the United States elects McCain, my passion for national politics will likely end, and I can move to causes that I can actually impact. Oh, I will continue to vote democratic for the long haul, but my obsession with the need for us to elect a democratic president will drift. When Al Gore opted to concentrate on the climate crisis in favor of chasing the presidency again, I didn't fully understand. I now do.
0 comments:
Post a Comment