I'll make this quick, which is probably a good thing since what I'm about to say likely won't be very popular.
Georges Clemenceau once famously said that war is too important to be left to the generals. Well, I'm starting to believe that from what we've seen lately -- the trickery, lies and dangerous gambits of the McCain campaign, and the fact that its only competition isn't blowing it fully and comfortably out of the water in the nationwide polls -- the future of this country may be too important to be left to the people.
Or, more specifically, to the half of this country that values ignorance, provincial charm, impressive deception, unwavering party allegiance and mindless ideology above not simply a government based on thoughtful analysis but above the very lives of the people who live under it.
If you've seen enough courtroom dramas, you know that often when a lawyer makes a questionable argument or takes a dubious stand on behalf of his client, the judge will sometimes decide that it goes too far in the direction of subverting the very concept our legal system stands for: justice. He or she will essentially say that the argument is so prejudicial -- so out-of-bounds -- that the jury shouldn't even be allowed to hear it. And so it's thrown out.
It happens in court all the time.
Why can't it be allowed to happen on a national scale -- in the current presidential election?
Here's my point: Sarah Palin isn't simply unqualified to be vice president -- or God forbid, president -- she's thoroughly unqualified. If installed in office, the McCain ticket will have put this country in imminent danger. What's worse, the reason Palin was selected for the campaign actually has nothing to do with her qualifications or lack thereof to begin with; it was a purely political choice -- a shifty little trick designed to nab the narrative and nail down the conservative base which, quite frankly, doesn't typically employ any semblance of logic or reason in voting for a candidate anyway. On the contrary, there are those who support Palin specifically because they believe she will be a harbinger of the End Times and help hasten the Rapture. McCain counted on this when he chose her; he didn't bother to vet her properly and didn't care one bit that she might not be prepared to take on the responsibilities of being a vice president. (If you need proof, look at the way he cynically attempts to hide her from anyone who might put her in a position where she'd make it clear that she has no idea what she's talking about and has no place being where she is right now.)
So why can't someone step in and declare that this candidacy isn't fit to be handed to the voters?
I realize that, as usual, this will get me slapped with the ubiquitous "elitist" tag, but by now the reality of Sarah Palin is beyond speculation or opinion; it's pretty much proven fact to anyone with a brain.
McCain is currently and consistently lying to win this election and if he succeeds, the nation as a whole will pay the price because his vice president doesn't meet even the paltriest of standards for assuming the office.
Who can step in and halt this farce?
I'm not quite sure, but I'd be inclined to offer this suggestion -- which I admit doesn't come from a lawyer, so take it for what it's worth: the Supreme Court made a decision regarding the 2000 election that changed all of our lives irrevocably; maybe it's time someone availed him or herself of our hallowed legal system and truly did try to have this put to a judge.
Who'll be the first to file an emergency injunction against the McCain campaign?
Anyone?