TUMBLEWEEDS
Well, in the wake of a rough-and-tumble presidential campaign, it is back to the tumbleweeds of Arizona for Senator John McCain. It is said, that following his concession speech, he drove himself home with his wife and a couple of his kids. No fanfare. A fitting exit for a man who has suffered the lowest lows life can offer, as well as exhilaration, and seems to take both with an equal amount of humility. Governor Palin, on the other hand, left for Alaska amidst reporters and cameras. Suitable fireworks for the up-and-comer that McCain introduced to the world.
Much will be written and said, in the days, weeks, months and years following this election. What happened inside the McCain Campaign? In my estimation, nothing we couldn't have expected. it would be hard for anyone to keep focused, a campaign that was beleaguered from the start with more obstacles and anchors than you could shake a stick at. Not the least of which is a vitriol, and I'm being kind, by many, towards the Bush Administration. As with all things political, their mismanagement is exaggerated, but one can hardly argue that they have made a dire mess of things. Sure, there is plenty of blame to spread on both sides of the aisle, but that could only be presented in an even argument presented to, and by, logical people.
In the last few weeks, sensing what was coming, I stepped up my efforts to sell anyone I could on McCain. I even broke up our "After-Trick-Or-Treating-Halloween-Party" when I began foaming at the mouth, trying to sway a few Obama supporters in the room. The single mother of some friends of my kids made her case for Obama. "He is so eloquent, and McCain is Bush-Jr." Welcome to voting American public. It is odd, after everything, after nearly two years of watching McCain fall and rise, that this inconsequential remark from a woman as dumb as a box of rocks was what really sent chills through my spine. I knew it was over. On Friday, I stopped for coffee at a convenience store. The clerk, a 19-year old girl, pierced to the hilt, remarked on my McCain shirt. I asked her if she voted and she said yes, for Obama, because he is "such a good speaker".
I asked if she had plans for going to college. "After I get my G.E.D.. I dropped out of High School". Chalk up another one for Obama.
There was simply too strong a headwind for McCain. The financial meltdown, his association with the dreaded G.O.P. . And then his own mistakes, like signing a bail-out bill laden with pork that so angered the American people that they could barely spit, and yet he passed on this opportunity to be a real maverick. Towards the end of the campaign, the obstacles became almost cartoon-like. An endorsement from Dick Cheney the weekend before the vote. I guess Hannibal Lechter wasn't available. Does anyone think that was a heart-felt endorsement? One last kick in the groin from a member of the "old club" which has always had open disdain for McCain. Then, the passing of Barack's Grandmother, just to add a little extra sympathy. No mention of members of McCain's family that passed while he was imprisoned in Vietnam. No mention of a lot things, actually, and this was the thing that really tipped the election. That every major newspaper, news outlet, TV and print, was so flagrantly in-the-tank for Obama, made the entire process polluted, in my opinion. "Free Speech". It's hard to imagine that this is what our forefathers had in mind. Still, even all of these things and dozens more, doesn't explain the complete breakdown of logic in the thought process of so many people. Half of the nation came to the same conclusion. Barack Obama is more fit, more qualified, more deserving to be President, than John McCain. There were two job applications on the table. One is a single sheet of paper. The other reads like War and Peace. Many more people chose the lightweight.
I can accept election results. I have done it all my life. I have a hard time accepting the results of an increasingly convoluted process in which the job becomes, in essence, "For-Sale", to the guy who can rally the most troops and consequently raise the most cash. The guy with the 30-minute infomercial wins. And what saddens me most, by far, is the notion of an ungrateful nation. A nation that no longer really puts that much weight in "service". As though it's not a real thing, just a concept. As though real and tangible sacrifices were not made. And even more, the thought that the country I grew up in may very well change forever, in a dramatic way. A very different place for my children to grow up in, and raise their children in, than for me. The previous generation made great sacrifices to make America a better place. Perhaps we will turn this around and save our country, but I fear that the folks about to take charge have a very different idea of what American should be than do I. And for those of us who were looking forward to real change, real reform, smaller government, fiscal responsibility and national security...well, I think we missed that chance. I suspect historians will look back on this election in wonder and amazement that in such a dangerous and complex time, when real leadership based on experience and track-record was called for, that an overwhelming number of us turned down the opportunity.
Karl From New Hampshire