Infinite MonkeysSomewhere, in my vast library of Menckeniana, there is a piece by H.L. Mencken about what happens when Democrats meet. I think. It was one of his dispatches from one of the national conventions, during the 1920s. Maybe. The gist of it was that when rival Republicans meet in a hotel lobby, they tend to greet each other like Shriners. When rival Democrats meet, Mencken may or may not have written, get ready for a knife fight.
I promise to track down the reference and even correct the account just as soon as I take care of some other... er, more pressing business. But the image -- which admittedly may be wholly formed in my addled brain out of nothing more than misconception and partisan dementia -- lately came to the fore during discussions of the current presidential election.
The Republicans, though in dire straits, might just pull it out in the fall. And no, it isn't enough to step back and hope the Democrats immolate themselves. An editorial in Thursday's Investor's Business Daily argues
Some Republicans fret that special-election losses portend disaster for their party this fall. But the most radical Democratic presidential nominee ever is actually a golden opportunity for the GOP to win big.Ronald Reagan used to say the key to GOP victory was presenting voters with "a banner of bold, unmistakable colors, with no pastel shades." Now, with Barack Obama as the Republicans' likely opponent this November, there's no excuse for pastel.
John McCain has a well-deserved reputation as a maverick, as a politician who puts personal honor over partisanship. That's well and good. Honor counts for something. But after eight years of an administration that has sucked the oxygen out of the old Reaganite coalition, McCain has an opportunity to make a case for a principled conservatism. A conservatism of restrained and sensible spending. A conservatism that does not sacrifice national interest to international interests. McCain may or may not be that conservative. Probably not. But in contrast with left-liberal Barack Obama, he could position himself as such.
What's great about the way the November election is shaping up is that very contrast. Sure, McCain is hardly the ideal conservative. And I happen to know that the left has doubts about Obama, too. But absent a Paul vs. Kucinich donnybrook, this is about as decent a presidential slugfest as anyone could hope for. Let's make the best of it, shall we?
Posted by Ben at May 7, 2008 11:57 PM