Few have accused me of optimism. That’s probably because I’m not an optimist. But recent indications from the newspaper, Internet, and cable news stations have been hopeful.
The President’s approval rating is steadily slipping.
“They” say that money literally insulates and power is exhilaratingly addictive. While I wouldn’t know about either, something Richard Reeves – the journalist with a depth and breadth of historical perspective – wrote months ago has bubbled to the surface. “Eventually the pendulum swings.” Eventually extremes cannot be maintained. Unless I’m misreading the signs, the surveys, the man-on-the-street interviews, his prediction is coming to pass.
It may be a case of excellent timing, if not wishful thinking. To paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, you can fool enough people to win reelection only so long. Not being a masochist, I didn’t watch President Bush’s State of the Union speech – I read it afterward – so it was heartening to hear a number of viewers remark that at some point they had to turn off their TV sets, begging the question what did they expect? Granted, it was a CNN story and they were hardly Republican activists; still, it was encouraging.
Safer country? Explore Mars (insert your gallows humor punchline here)? Renewal of the Patriot Act? Steroid use (steroid use)? No Child Left Behind (inadequate funding notwithstanding)? Booming stock market? Recovering economy? Marriage amendment? Give us a collective break.
And my favorite all-time political euphemism “tax relief.” Run that past the unemployed man or woman whose benefits are about to expire and watch the sparks fly. Listen to the convenient explanation – “Well, poor people don’t pay taxes” – and get this person to his or her polling place the moment it opens next November.
Correct me if I’m wrong but in the next election whether the two guys down the street can visit each other in the intensive care unit isn’t going to matter much. Nor will the space program figure prominently. Pit them against one’s personal failing economy and it will prove a rather lopsided battle.
Correct me if I’ve seriously misjudged voter priorities, but whether John Kerry exploits rich women by marrying them will not be an issue. Botox will not be a deciding factor. Nor will be John Edward’s alleged cherry-picking clients during his trial lawyer career, nor whether Judy Dean wears enough makeup. With directives from Karl Rove (no doubt on speed dial), Ann Coulter can systematically smear each Democratic candidate until she implodes, to no avail. As long as the Democratic candidate’s platform appeals to more real people with real problems than his opponent’s, her pathetic character assassinations will be moot.
Unless I’ve miscalculated, there are more poor, struggling citizens of this country than rich, contented ones. Majorities still rule, or are supposed to, when enough people pay attention. Oppress the downtrodden long enough and severely enough and they will revolt. They will vote their own self-interests. The pendulum will swing back toward the center. Lies about the necessity of war will be – have been – exposed and tortured phrases such as “weapons-related program activities” won’t suffice.
Social issues won’t trump standard of living. A stranger getting an abortion (still legal under this administration) won’t propel as many to the voting booth as a job transferred overseas. If organized religion is the intersection of governance and psychology, as I believe it is, there are no longer enough Bush worshippers to overcome his detractors. Repeat the mantra “God anointed him President” and make me cringe. Write a rebuttal letter to the State Journal-Register proclaiming him a wartime hero, even in the event that your loved one, or someone you know’s loved one, or someone in the community’s loved one, is no longer alive in Iraq. But be prepared for the louder chant, a larger chorus, singing the following hymn:
America, she has no king
No emperor, no royal command
We’ve not abandoned everything
In England’s “green and pleasant land” *
For presidents demand to rule
Or aristocracies prevail
As long as good defeats the cruel
Our strength in numbers cannot fail
For if there’s one thing Bush is doing right, he is making more of us populists. He is uniting us – against him.
Be prepared, as the loyal opposition will say, for the fight of your life.
And be prepared for backlash in our own newspaper, serving a community not exactly considered a bastion of liberalism. That too I find optimistic.
George Will, the conservative columnist, once labeled Bill Clinton “worst man ever to be president.” George W. Bush is the dumbest. Whoever the Democratic nominee is, he will be at least twice as smart and twice as articulate as Bush, and his adjectives will extend beyond “good.” In the fewest debates Bush can get away with (maybe a well-timed Iraqi crisis will intervene?) whatever Democrat emerges will be at least twice as persuasive, which will be evident to enough voters to make a critical difference in the ultimate outcome. Regardless of the obscene size of the Bush campaign chest, it won’t compensate for the juxtaposition of an actual three-dimensional intellect with the cardboard cutout propped up as a front man for the power behind the throne.
* paraphrase of “Jerusalem,” the British national anthem