The Palin choice as metaphor for the Bush years

[man4allcats]

Republicans are undoubtedly now ruing their circumstances. Even John McCain must surely be wondering whether things might have turned out differently had he chosen a credible running mate. For the Republicans, all the Monday morning quarterbacking in the world won't change what has occurred, but for them this outcome must surely beg the question "How did this happen?" The short and convenient answer is that Palin was indeed a disastrous choice. While that answer is true in so far as it goes, I think it misses the larger picture. Eight years ago, the Republicans made a similarly disastrous choice with a similarly incompetent individual in the person of George W. Bush, and they then proceeded to compound that error four years later by again making the same tragic miscalculation. The moral to this story might be that you simply don't put incompetents in responsible positions. Had the Republicans chosen an intelligent, democratically minded candidate in 2000, they might not be in this situation now, and further much of the horror of the last eight years may well have been avoided. Though we have all heard many stupid things; sorry but there's just no other way to put it, come out of that camp during those years, it would nevertheless be foolish to deny that there are many very intelligent, very talented people among the Republican ranks. Ultimately then, one has to ask why they made such choices. I believe the answer is finally that they lost sight of who they are as Americans and of what America is in terms of the principles upon which it was founded. Blinded by greed, arrogance and a lust for power, they attempted to sell off democracy to the highest bidder, and like Judas himself, in the end they paid a price far greater than any short term gain they may have realized.

[Rabrrrrrr]

1. Except, unlike Judas, the Republicans will not be willing to accept their own sin,

and will not take responsibility for it.

[willing dwarf]

2. Emblamatic of their lack of respect for the populace

They tried to pawn off Sarah Palin as an example of a brilliant woman who we should place our hope in? I ask you! I could name 15 republican women who would be better choices, but they wouldn't be tools as she was. She was a playing piece on their chess board, as were the voters.

Interesting to see how McCain and his advisers saw the election as a game of chess, while Obama guided his election team to see it as a movement, a response to the upswelling need for integrity and change.