I'm a big believer in not taking the champagne out of the closet until the check has cleared, the full-figured lady has sung, and the cat actually comes home. And so it is before the election as we wait to see if the Democrats are in for another shock.
We know it can happen. History, according to Governor Palin, is of little interest when not serving her. But we know that history repeats when people assume, "That just can't happen again."
Politics can be pathological. Bob Herbert argues that the days of Rove are over. He wrote:
With the country facing enormous problems (even before the meltdown of the credit and financial markets in recent months), the voters wanted more substance from their candidates. They wanted a greater sense of maturity and a more civil approach to campaigning. They were tired of the politics of personal destruction and the playbook that counseled "attack, attack, attack.
But just in case you have lingering doubts, and I've heard more than a few on my travels through New England, Washington, Maryland, and Virginia this past week. Let's remember some of the people who will suffer if McCain and Palin win.
First, because too often they're not placed anywhere near that spot, children without health insurance will suffer. Their untenable condition will continue. Children in foster care will not find families and those waiting to be adopted may never have a home. Why? Because it will become economically prohibitive for families who would otherwise reach out. Yet, the very wealthy will get tax breaks.
Second, women will continue to lose ground at work. And their families will suffer. Anyone who can defend the Ledbetter case, as McCain has, let alone claim that women just need more education and training rather than the support of their country when pay discrimination occurs, is out of touch. Women still wondering whether this detached solution was just a slip of the tongue by McCain ought to consider, too, the numerous qualified Republican women he skipped over for his vice presidential pick.
Third, civility loses for sure. As McCain sneers and Palin snipes with little regard for truth, we sink deeper as a nation into a paradigm of power and possession. That is the type of campaign McCain and Palin have run and it's the type of administration they'll preside over as well.
So who loses if McCain and Palin win? We all do. America does. If you are on the fence still, think hard about that.
Dr. Reardon also blogs at bardscove.
