Four weeks from now, the US Presidential election will be over. Whoever wins will inherit Bush's legacy: a quagmire in Iraq, a deteriorating Afghanistan, a resurgent Russia, a backsliding North Korea, a reckless Iran, a renewed Al Qaeda, a rising tide of unemployment, a worsening housing market, a major recession, and of course the worst financial meltdown since the Great Depression. The Presidency is not going to be much of a prize for the next couple of years. With a landscape like that, one almost wonders if the Chairs of the Republican and Democratic parties secretly hope the other guy "wins."
If the President is to lead and govern effectively, he is going to need a Congress who will support him. A McCain administration would face a hostile and rebellious Congress: the Democrats already hate him, and McCain has been excoriating his own party in a desperate attempt to seem relevant. McCain would be a lameduck from Day One. Talk about a bridge to nowhere! If Obama wins, however, and the Democrats also win a strong Democratic majority in the House and Senate, then as LTG mentioned below, effective governance might actually be possible for the first time since perhaps LBJ, whose "Great Society" program delivered Civil Rights, Medicare, and moved to protect the environment for the first time.
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
28 Days Later
Posted by Dr. Strangelove at 10:30 PM
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4 comments:
If only because we will get two or three SC Justices retiring very soon, perhaps as early as July 2009, there is still so very much to gain from winning, even for McCain. He's not a lameduck in that respect!
Like I said in a previous post, it wouldn't surprise me if McCain were sort of "throwing" the election. He has made so many bad moves. His judgment, if it ever existed, is absent. And the next guy is going to have a hell of a time.
I am optimistic that Obama will win and do well in office. But I really think we need to be patient because I don't think Obama will be able to "fix" everything. Nor do I think he will be able to fix things exactly the way he hopes to.
The French were really excited about Sarkozy. But they quickly became disenchanted when his reforms failed to work over night. I fear that will happen here to Obama. I think the money situation is going to be much worse that either candidate wants to admit.
Obama will disappoint many voters. It is absolutely inevitable. So many expect so much from him, and he cannot possibly deliver it.
But that's okay. Disappointment with images of perfection is part of the natural process where infatuation matures. Whether it leads to rage and hatred or a mature and less emotional appreciation for competence is another matter.
Just a note... The Iowa Electronic Markets now have Obama 83-17. That's 5 to 1. I have never seen them that disparate before. It can only be a good sign.
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