Well, for Phillies phans, tonight was painful. The team just didn’t play well. But I’m a soft Phillies supporter and, although I want them to win, I’m more interested in a competitive World Series. So far, so good.
After the game, I switched over to CNN and witnessed a conversation between Alex Castellanos, David Gergen, and Paul Begala about the need for John McCain to come to terms with his loss and show some dignity. It’s good advice, but it’s way too late. More interestingly, the fact that people are talking about McCain’s campaign in the past tense (including people like Castellanos) is important.
There are all kinds of reasons why some presidential elections shift sharply in one direction in the last days. I call this phenomenon ‘Winning the Argument’, and it happens when one side is defeated rhetorically and basically stops fighting. There’s a scene in the movie Saving Private Ryan that expresses this moment in a gruesome manner. It involves a hand-to-hand knifefight between an American GI and a German soldier. They fight like hell, but when the German finally gets the upper hand and slowly thrusts the knife into the American’s heart, you can see a final moment of acceptance. He has been beaten. You can watch the scene if you have the stomach for depicted violence.
McCain has a knife to his heart right now. And he can try to go out with some dignity or he can fight to the very last, using every dirty trick and dishonorable argument his team can dream up. There is an argument that McCain should consider more than his reputation. He should consider the cost of delegitimizing the next president in the eyes of his supporters. He should consider the behavior of his supporters and how badly they’ve been misinformed. John McCain should let his campaign die with a little dignity and some honor.
I vaguely knew that Atlas Shrugs was a wacky right-wing blog, but I didn’t know how wacky until I saw their first official music video:
[Via Sadly, No!]
Way too early, Booman. No offense.
Robert, if you have already volunteered to knock doors, make phone calls, do data entry, or otherwise help the campaign, you should go ahead and do that. And if you haven’t, why the hell haven’t you? Winning this does depend on executing the plan, and you need to be one small part of that. But, the election is over and I’m not going to pretend otherwise. Only an outside event can change things now, and none of us have any control over that.
The campaign email I got today and donated through the link for says it all:
We’ve worked so hard to get this far. We can’t stop now.
Thank you so much for your support,
Michelle
I’m not doing a lift of Lord Stanley until the clock reads 00:00 and all the votes are counted. Until then, it’s play hard.
The campaign email I got today and donated through the link for says it all:
We’ve worked so hard to get this far. We can’t stop now.
Thank you so much for your support,
Michelle
I’m not doing a lift of Lord Stanley until the clock reads 00:00 and all the votes are counted. Until then, it’s play hard.
wtf?
.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."Of course it isn’t terrorism. Killing is good and righteous if you’re killing “the bad guys.”
Ah. See, abortion clinic bombers tend to be blowing up buildings and people for a cause that they believe in.
Terrorists, you see, don’t do that. They blow up buildings and people because they hate America. Those abortion clinic bombers love America, they just hate the anti-American parts of America.
Like Tim McVeigh – he also hated the anti-American parts of America.
It’s kind of like the standard IOKIYAR, but far more disgusting and dangerous.
McCain’s done everything except make Rev Wright a major campaign issue, which he still might do. Delegitimization with a substantial part of the GOP base has already been accomplished with the incessant Ayers crap. So I’m not really sure there’s much left to salvage. In fact, if he stays negative he may guarantee us a landslide and we might even hit 60 because of it.
What I’m waiting for is the aftermath of this election. If indeed Obama and the Democrats enjoy a smashing victory, we’re gonna need a truckload of popcorn to sustain us through the GOP soap opera that will follow. I’m guessing that most Republicans will be content with the delusion that McCain/Palin was a lousy ticket that ran a disorganized campaign, and that their party will do better next time. Hopefully some within the GOP will actually grasp that their party is a catastrophe, with no coherent strategy for governing and few appealing candidates. Karl Rove managed to acheive some short-term success, but the net effect of his machinations was to create a vile and toxic organization which can’t survive exposure to the truth. The whole enterprise is shit, and it will be interesting to see how long it takes for them to look in the mirror and face reality.
tHIS SOUNDS LIKE A RE-RUN OF THE aRGUMENT THAT hILLARY SHOULD HAVE CONCEDED MUCH EARLIER. oops
There is absolutely nothing wrong with fighting like hell until the election is over – its how you behave afterwards that matters.
Sport wouldn’t be much fun if the losing team simply gave up once their position became hopeless, and so it is with politics.
Obama was strengthened by having to overcome a strong Billary campaign, and a contained McCain campaign helps to keep the Dem troops disciplined and the turnout high.
Ultimately it results in a better mandate for the next administration.
For their own sake the GOP should go through a period of rational reflection afterwards and come up with new plans, policies and people in due course. If they don’t do that and continue to behave like spoilt children it will be several election cycles before they get their hands on power again.
Dems should be hoping the GOP wingers take over. That is the one way of ensuring the GOP stays out of power for a long time – although it isn’t necessarily good for democracy to have one party become complacent in power for lack of effective opposition.
PS – is a former Alaskan Independence Party member/supporter a “real” American?
We do have to ask ourselves which would be better for the country, the McSame wing taking over and the adults showing up humbled, at the table, ready to work with a presumptive Obama administration in a time of crisis (you notice how assuming Obama will win now isn’t uppity any more?) or if the Palin wing will take over and do everything they can to scorch and salt the earth beneath Obama’s feet.
Still, Frank’s right. Now is not the time to get complacent. Now is the time to go for the jugular.
There won’t be a McCain wing in the GOP after the election. Arguably there isn’t even one now. He was the lowest common denominator candidate. After the election he’s finished on the grounds of age if nothing else.
Then the action goes to Washington and an Alaska Governor becomes peripheral – which may suit Palin as the bloodletting won’t be fun. After a couple of years she may run for Senate and ride into Washington like a white knight in holy robes – but even then she’ll only be a junior senator.
She may run for the GOP nomination in 4 years time, and a lot depends on which parts of the GOP rump survive. My guess it will be the fundi-southern base and so she will be well placed the win the nominantion – unless she too is badly damaged by an Obama blow-out.
My guess is that the GOP will be quite a marginal force if the fundis take over for a long time to come. It all depends on the degree to which Obama blows the moderates away.