What kind of driver are you?

[lapislzi]

(Mods, this is not a topic for the Lounge. Stay with me for a minute and you'll see why)

Are you the kind of driver who pays attention? Are you constantly making panic stops or overcorrecting? What's your focus? What makes a good driver? Lurching along, or setting a course?

Let me tell you about Coach Thurber, my high school driver-ed teacher. A real character. He also coached football at our public school, the Catholic high school, and taught subjects at the Catholic school. He was a Baltimore Catechism guy, from some southern state (my then-untrained ears could not now tell you where), and he sounded for all the world as if he gave the same lecture to all his classes, regardless of subject. He was an unwitting philosopher who injected bizarre snippets of Catholic wisdom into our driver-ed classes.

Aim high.

Plan your route in advance.

Keep your eyes moving.

Always keep to the right of the imaginary center line.

Except when he said that last one, it always came out as "sinner line" (the accent).

I think the old guy was onto something (hell, I've remembered it lo these 25 years). It's true for driving, it's true for football, and it's true for political strategy.

Before you flame me, I'm not suggesting that anyone take a great leap rightward. Not at all.

I'm talking about taking the long view, the high road, and keeping our eyes on the prize. It is very possible that if we careen from election cycle to election cycle, learning nothing, focusing merely on the next play, or the car in front of us, we will not be able to see the route or even the road ahead. We have to look three cars ahead.

It's as important to cultivate the best candidates as it is to win. What kind of party do we want to be? Where are we going and how do we plan to get there? How do we keep to the right side of that line? (OK, I know I'm stretching the admittedly mixed metaphor a bit, but you get the idea).

Driving blind isn't going to do it. Road rage sure as hell isn't going to do it. Aim high. Plan your route in advance. Keep your eyes moving.

And don't forget about that imaginary sinner line.