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Election Day

Tue, 11/04/2008 - 12:30 — David

I've been joking that I like John McCain too much to want him to be President. And there's a lot of truth in that--I lived in Arizona when McCain was first elected to Senate, and I volunteered in his 200 campaign. He's a good man, and even where I disagree with him, I believe he is honorable.

But the real truth is that the Republican Party has lost the right to govern. It may be unfair to blame the shenanigans of Bush and congressional Republicans on McCain, since he railed against of lot of it at the time, but this isn't about fair. It's also not about silly ideas like "it might help the GOP to be in the opposition for a while," or "it might make them wake up to be..." then filling in whatever you happen to believe.

No, this is about America, and what happens next. The next President will face a difficult and changing world. The financial situation is bleak, not just because of the immediate credit crisis, but because of China, all the debt Bush has run up, and a host of other troubles. I don't know that Obama will handle it better than McCain, but I think he will have a lot more flexibility, and a lot more talent to draw upon. McCain would face a hysterical opposition, and, yes, his age is an issue. He would also be backed by a party that doesn't really believe in him, and--as I mentioned--has lost the right to govern.

So I voted for Obama. It was in California, so it didn't really matter much, but I hope he wins, and I hope things get better. Yes, I said "hope."

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Tue, 11/04/2008 - 12:43 — Monkey Brad

I blame Joel

Damn you, Joel, you liberal freak! What have you done with Monkey David?

Like I said before, you two are going to (as Ben would put it) where Jesus doesn't live. (I don't care how much sense David makes.)

Tue, 11/04/2008 - 13:05 — Joel

My work here is done

That's not true. There's lots of conservatives or leaning-conservative folks who've drawn similar conclusions

And I'll go ahead and make an admission: If the McCain of 2000 had won the nomination that year and continued running in that vein -- actually being a maverick, as opposed to constantly calling himself one (the very essence of poseurdom) -- I might well have voted for him. Gore is kind of misremembered from those days as a saint, but he was a pretty standard pol who ran a pretty lousy campaign in 2000.

My inclinations are left-of-center, but I'm not a straight-ticket voter.

But I'll raise a question I pondered a couple of weeks ago: Is it possible that even though you're conservative, this might still be a moment the country is best served by (generically) a liberal at the helm? The term "Reagan Democrats" was created for people on the other side of the fence who reached a similar conclusion 30 years ago; perhaps they were right? And an "Obama Republican" might be right today?

Tue, 11/04/2008 - 13:19 — Monkey Brad

Nah

I can't go there with you. Not me personally. Not on Obama. Locally, today I did vote for two Democrats who had Republicans available as alternatives. Just wanted to establish those bona fides. But I have to vote my principles on matters like abortion/judges, social justice, etc.

Tue, 11/04/2008 - 12:51 — Dr. Zaius

Volunteering for McCain

I volunteered in his 200 campaign.

Wow. I knew McCain was old, but not that old? Was he running for president of Judea?

Tue, 11/04/2008 - 13:11 — RobbL

200 Election

And, more importantly, was he running as a member of the Judean People's Front, or the People's Front of Judea?

Tue, 11/04/2008 - 13:30 — Monkey Brad

Wow

You really are going for the low hanging fruit today, aren't you?

Who didn't see that coming! :)

I'm using italics!

Tue, 11/04/2008 - 13:40 — RobbL

Like I said...

Giddy. GiddyGiddyGiddy. Already-Know-the-Outcome Giddy. Don't-care-how-lame-or-obvious-the-joke-is Giddy. Just-had-Chick-fil-A Giddy. Can't-wait-for-Ben's-playlist Giddy. Never-noticed-until-now-how-silly-the-word-"giddy"-is Giddy.

Giddy!

Tue, 11/04/2008 - 13:01 — David

200 Campaign

Yes, Dr. Z, yes he was.

You're going to be first against the wall on January 20th, I tell you.

Tue, 11/04/2008 - 13:06 — RobbL

The low-hanging comedy fruit

Yes, I said "hope."

The audacity!

Tue, 11/04/2008 - 13:34 — Chad The Elder (not verified)

Outward Bound

You make an interesting argument, but like most arguments in favor of Obama it's based more on wishful thinking than anything else. The Democrats have been governing Congress for the last two years and if the approval numbers are any indication, not exactly doing a bang up job of it. Do you really think that Obama will have "flexibility" to say nothing of the courage to stand in the way of legislation that the Dems will be pushing through in the next Congress?

One of the big complaints that conservatives have against Bush is that he rarely vetoed anything that came out of the Republican Congress. Nothing in Obama's history indicates that he's willing to go against his party when it really counts. A President McCain meanwhile would have greater flexibility to work with Congress when possible while also stopping them from running off the rails when necessary.

Having said all that, I think it's very possible that in the long run the GOP will be better off with an Obama victory. The Democrats are going to have four years to run amuck and try to use the government to cure every ill that we face. Instead of blaming everything that goes wrong (including the weather) on Bush, they're going to have to take responsibility for it.