The Morning After

It was a giddy five days, wasn't it? I remember it well. There were blogs, and jokes on the Internet, and bets were made about how long it would last, how soon there would be a resignation. I made one of those bets myself. I said, within the month. Gone within the month. But five days passed and the vice-president was still there.

I'm referring, of course, not to our short happy fling with Sarah Palin, which ended last night with her completely terrifying speech in Minnesota, but to the week that Dick Cheney shot a friend in the face, didn't even go to the hospital to see him, and somehow, after a week, was still standing, as powerful as ever. These Republicans don't go away, and they never admit a mistake, and sometimes, when I remember this, I wonder how I ever forgot it, much less how I ever bet against it.

I forget what I know about conventions too, until I'm reminded every four years. The Democrats are always messy, multi-colored, a civics lesson in democracy, at times a nightmare of what can happen when people find their voices and won't stop talking. This year they had an abbreviated roll call, and the states all went through their introductory paragraphs ... the great state of Whatever ... the home of the God-Knows-Where Water Gap ...the place where daffodils bloom all year long ... and it made me misty thinking of the first night I ever heard a roll call. It was 1956 and I was camping on the rim of the Grand Canyon, listening to the radio and writing down the numbers on a piece of cardboard as the states decided whether Estes Kefauver or John Kennedy would be the vice-president on a ticket headed by Adlai Stevenson, whom I loved with all my heart. It was a thrilling night, and alone in the dark with my portable radio, I felt as if I were part of absolutely everything that was great in the universe.

Then of course, there are the Republicans, and I always forget them too. I forget how white they are, and mean-spirited, and thin-lipped. I watch them and I think, is anyone buying this? Does anyone think we're better off today? That we're "winning" the war? That teaching creationism is simply a matter of exposing students to both sides of the question? That it's sexist to wonder whether a mother who just months ago committed to a Down syndrome child ought to be running for vice-president? Does anyone think that executive experience trumps wisdom and intellect? And who are these people who rise to their feet and cheer loudest when they hear the words "Off-shore drilling"?

But the Republicans do it better. They present a united front. They wait for the applause, they don't roll over it in the interests of keeping the speeches short and on time. They ride the news cycle, they twist the truth, they stick to their talking points, they blah into the wind, blah blah blah blah blah, and in the end, they're still standing.

Now what?

Comments

[RButler]

Obama was brought up by a single mom and whose father left them. George Bush was brought up by 2 parents. No divorce.


Obama is the Democratic nominee. Bush is, well, Bush. Doesn't this argue against fathers staying with their wives and children?

[leftleaning]

Why is everyone ignoring the revealing of the McCain campaign strategy? Their campaign has stated that "this election is not about the issues,but about personalities. Doesn't that say it all. It it the answer to all the Sarah Palin questions. It is obvious that McCain didnt do a VP vetting for the best candidate, but did a casting call to play identity politics. They checked the internal polls and found the only path to victory is "socceer" moms. So they hold a "casting call" to find the perfect telegenic prop with a good life story. This eliminated every man, and even qualified Republican women. Sarah Palin won a casting call. Qualifications be damned, issues be damnd, country be damned. They are cynically betting that Americans will vote for someone that looks like them, versus someone that will look out for them. The POW and the hockey mom versus a black man. Sarah Palin is being used and thats offensive-- all women should be offended-- and all Americans should be appalled. A casting call for "personality".

[cacki]

What now? Knock em down. I love being a Dem. We're happy, teary, open--at least at the convention (even though we let the DNC steal it for Obama --ahem) But it would be so hard, so energy consuming, so unhealthy to be a Republican I think. Do they die younger? Such bile, such darkness, and I don't know why, except to create a world where they rule and we work for them. Elite and servents. Is that the plan? Way too hard. Lindsey Graham is on now--what a little synchophant. The Dem convention speeches were soaring, about possibilities about what we can be. It felt like we were kids again, safe. Now this-- scary, depressing, black. Jesus I hope we win.

[ToniChicago]

And for some reason they seem to have patented "U-S-A" as the rally cry. Most of the time it has no relation to whatever is being said, (dissing Obama's record, for example), but then that's probably all they have to feel good about.

[Indubio]

I heard the BBC report today that there are only 30 non-white delegates at the Republican National Convention. I found that statistic remarkable after watching the Democratic Convention. So much for the Republican big tent! The BBC report also included the results of two Wednesday polls that showed Obama/Biden ahead or McCain/Palin in Iowa and Minnesota--two overwhelming white states--by at least 15%.

[lw1899]

Thanks for the stats. I kept looking for minorities in the crowd and saw about 8-10 Blacks, 1 Latino and 3 Asians which is just about half of the BBC count. Inclusive the Republicans ain't. On the other hand, you couldn't swing a dead cat at the DNC without hitting a non-white delegate.

[politicky]

I gew up in a community just loaded with them.

*sigh*

[cnick]

Nora, you always get it right, you are a voice in the storm, and a funny one at that. How do they survive, these whiter than white naysayers, these people who care so little about the future, and more about their religious beliefs becoming law or their pockets being lined with even more money. I had hope this year, real hope, it's fading fast. What a crazy country.

[Goodmom08]

I'm a white Republican woman, I care very much about the future, I don't want anyone's (including my) religious beliefs to become law, and I would absolutely love my pockets to contain more money--who wouldn't. It would be such a relief to have voters discuss the issues and their candidates without characterizing The Other Side in such negative and nasty ways. When Senator Obama electrified that stadium full of people last week, I did not jump on here and say nasty things about the people who were excited about his candidacy. As a matter of fact, I enjoyed his moment, respect his charisma and intellect, felt the historical impact, and enjoyed "meeting" his wife and family during the convention week. Wow, all that -- and I'm a white Republican woman! Amazing, isn't it?

[fiorastar]

Goodmomo8, that's wonderful! Thank you for letting us know. I truly welcome you to any discussion of issues. I think the difference is that Obama has not ever, not ONCE in this campaign, gone for a personal attack against his opponents--it has been ALL about issues, hope, and supporting the American People, especially the working class.
The Republican campaign machine, by contrast, has been attacking with very personal vitriol since McCain became the presumptive nominee, and every single attack that has been levied at Obama--over and over--is hypocritically and cynically embodied by the person McCain "chose" for VP.

And, of course, he timed it to take away from the way Obama electrified that stadium. Thank you so much for reminding us!

I'm STILL electrified by the way!

[glennonwill]

don't lose hope yet, cnick. We've got it, I know it.

[trollsbwild]

Facts do not matter to the GOP They are inconvenient truths.
They ask us to pay no attention to their record.
Then after their agenda fails badly, offering no plan on the issues that matter most to us, we are told to let them have four more years.

The 28%'ers will never learn. I'm hoping the rest of us will.

[RobChattaTN]

its bad enough that there are the '28%ers;' but why are all the others supporting­/encouragi­ng such bad behavior?? Don't they care about America (ie. that its for ALL of us?) I thought that the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution said that this country is for every citizen! You'd never know by looking at and listening to the Repugs!! Am flabbergasted! really!

[politicky]

You are correct.

[MSB]

The answer is to clean house amongst our own (Dems) and then call the liars - LIARS!

I am tired with continually pitching the same unified America.

Newsflash: America isn't unified, and likely will never be completely. Stop trying to make everyone happy. The religious right will be the very end of this democratic republic. They should be vigorously opposed. There is an enormous difference between religious tolerance and sanctioning official religious positions - we are even FUNDING them!!! The right grabs that base for the voting bloc, and then runs every bad, expensive and exclusive idea down our throat in the conflation of religion and republicanism. The 'base' is typically too dense to realize they are being used (or they are rich and immoral)

Until the Democrats find a defiant voice and actually DEFEND our Constitution and The Bill of Rights without regard to personal ideology, we will always be weak. The Democrats have been so afraid of losing the middle-dwelling, undecided, self-hating, closeted, gun-owning, libertaria­n-leaning, mixed-marriage Republocrat that they haven't defended the sentiments of their LIBERAL base!!! They even run from the word for fear that the republican smear-media (i.e. The Mainstream Media) will label them with it. For goodness sake, we should be PROUD of our liberal ideology. Shame is for the guilty. Liberals are 'guilty' of nothing over the past 8 years.

[ETMister]

The only thing I could think of after listening to the pit bull with lipstick last night was that Maude Flanders could be our next President. Not only the voice, but the evangelical background as well.

[torrrep]

Nora, I'll answer those questions for you since you don't have a clue. Yes I am better off than I was 8 years ago. My wife is better off. Our family is better off. Our friends our better of. My neighbors are better off. Yes, we are winning the war. But I wouldn't expect you to notice. If you can teach and things and preach things against my religion in school then you can teach creationism. Anyone who believes that we are here by accident and that we came from a lightning strike and puddle of water is ignorant. Yes it is sexist to assume the needs of her Down's Syndrome child will not be met because she is running for vice president. No, executive experience does not trump wisdom and intellect. But why settle for one with Obama when you can have the whole package with Palin? Off shore drilling is exactly what this economy needs. Any other stupid questions I can answer for you?

[BannedInBoston]

Brilliant. My sediments exactly. Democrats Have More Fun. Republicans win the political knife fights. In part its because, I think, progressives have this weird notion that fighting fair counts for something.

There's an Old English poem entitled "The Battle of Malden" that describes how one Earl Birthnot rode out one day with his men to drive off a band of marauding Vikings who'd invaded the English coast. In order to engage the English, however, the Vikings needed his permission to cross a narrow causeway. They appealed to the famous "Anglo-Saxon sense of fair play" and pleaded with the Earl to let them cross. And so Earl Birthnot did so. Guess who won the Battle of Malden? (I'll give you one hint. It wasn't the English....)

[Mdazes]

Nothing stays the same. Something tell me this time things will be different. Why? Right before the 2006 election any fool could see that the hanging of bad boy Hussein was schedule days before the election to influence the Election. But Americans were not fooled, they voted the Republicans out of office and turned over Congress to the Dems and also pick up seats in the Senate. Yes things are changing and the GOP did not get the memo.

[buzzbinator]

Huh? I love reading lib blogs. But I'm just amazed at how much name calling there is here, and how little examples are given for your arguments.

Hey insanityfollows, everything you said is untrue. I'm a conservative evangelical Christian who loved the speech last night. Can you give me any examples of any of your allegations?

Please, liberals, you must actually listen to conservatives. I'm convinced that none of you actually listen to what Rush says. Why do you only listen to liberal voices?

I'm trolling on here trying to gain perspective on what liberals are thinking. You all need to actually read some of www.nationalreview.com to see what conservatives think, instead of just calling us all racist bigots. None of it is true.

[Mr Grey]

Now what indeed. I think it comes down to making a choice between substance or show. Truth or lies. Sincerity or selfishness. Whether you want to be a high or low information voter. Whether the last years have been good for you or not. Take on the future or hold on to the past. As for me, I will be holding my breath and voting for change. Good luck to us all, we are going to need it.