As Rajul Mahajan says “This is a time to wallow in the defeat. Let’s not shrug it off too quickly. Let’s acknowledge what it means in a world that is in the process of being torn apart by a new crusade. When we move on to try to find hope, let’s start with a rational core, not one built out of wishful thinking, fantasies about how the world works, and self-congratulation.”
I am enjoying this phase of the political experience far more than I did the run up to the election. Before the election the commentary was tactical, all about how much Bush sucks in so many ways, schedenfreude over bad news coming from the economy, Iraq, etc. In retrospect a complete and total waste of time.
Slate is running a great series called “Why Americans Hate Democrats — A Dialog.”
Now the whole conversation has become useful. We are asking the right questions finally. Answers range dramatically, but at least we are talking. I don’t necessarily agree with everything in it, but of the series Jane Smiley’s is my favorite. She actually goes into the whole human nature angle and tackles the issue head on.
So let’s not start planning who should run in 2008 just yet. All this talk about recruiting a candidate from a red state is a waste of time. The issues are bigger than demographics. Let’s meditate on this for a while. Why are we in this predicament? How could we let 58 million people get away with not holding a president accountable for the worst presidential record in a century?
Other reading: I liked Tom Friedman’s Two Nations Under God Editorial.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/07/opinion/07dowd.html?ex=1257570000&en=39520e561e8e847c&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland
By the beard of Odin, should we not also hold accountable the Democratic Party for not being able to find someone more electable than a pirate whore?
Another thought:
http://travallostreehouse.blogspot.com/2004/11/is-sex-answer.html
From the Tom Friedman article:
"Despite an utterly incompetent war performance in Iraq and a stagnant economy, Mr. Bush held onto the same basic core of states that he won four years ago – as if nothing had happened. It seemed as if people were not voting on his performance. It seemed as if they were voting for what team they were on."
"This was not an election. This was station identification. I’d bet anything that if the election ballots hadn’t had the names Bush and Kerry on them but simply asked instead, "Do you watch Fox TV or read The New York Times?" the Electoral College would have broken the exact same way."
That is understandable that money makes people independent. But how to act if one does not have cash? The one way only is to get the credit loans or college loan.