Pardon the rant but I'm growing a bit tired of reading quotes like this in Politico in reference to how McCain can possibly turn things around:
"Barring a terrorist attack," said Maslin, "in the face of what’s happened to the United States economy, the world economy, in the last two weeks how does this trend reverse itself?"
"Barring a terrorist attack." Really. Maybe I'm reading way too much into this, but I hear this type of hypothetical way too often. And I'm especially tired of hearing this from Democrats and Democratic strategists who are somehow trying to be deferential.
God forbid that there be a terrorist attack in the next four weeks. God forbid that there be another one EVER.
But what really pisses me off is the not so implicit assumption that Republicans would somehow benefit from a terrorist attack and Democrats would suffer.
I'm so angry I don't even know where to begin. So maybe if I do a stream of consciousness, point by point I'll be more rational.
- You know there are people out there praying for this to happen so the Repubs will win and that is absolutely disgusting. (I might add that I would be equally disgusted by Democrats gloating in a failing economy to give us our chance at the White House. And I only say that because I know of Republicans who have made such assertions.) Anyone who wishes this country ill for the sake of political points is an un-patriotic, inhumane, self-serving blowhard. But you know they're out there because the writing is on the wall that BO is going to win and he's going to win BIG. So what scenario works to get McSame in? Completely and utterly repulsive.
- Why do so many people automatically assume that such an event would help McCain? I'm biased, but if you ask me there is only one candidate who has remained unflappable, calm, poised and confident throughout the electoral process, and that ain't John McCain. Obama has schooled him on foreign policy in two debates. Obama has been the level headed one in the current economic crisis. Hell, if recent McCain performance in the face of national difficulty is any indicator, with him at the helm we wouldn't be able to tell if we were coming or going.
- How exactly would this have an effect on the election? No one knows for sure, of course, but the underlying assumption is that an attack would lead voters away from Obama and toward Grampy. Not that I don't think that such a heinous stunt is beyond the evilness of AQ, but what would the response be? Would Americans somehow flock to Gramps for safety? What exactly has he done that would make us feel safe and warm? I realize that he knows how to get Bin Laden and that he knows how to solve our financial crisis and I'm sure he also knows how to establish world peace, lower taxes, put a chicken in every pot and find enough oil in Alaska to keep us driving Hummers from here to eternity. Maybe the Repubs are bracing for this with their little police chiefs and party apparatchiks throwing out the middle name "Hussein" and the fabricated Ayers association the last couple of days. Do they know something we don't?
- Why is this a Democrat, of all people, who brings this up in the linked article? I could understand a partisan on the right, but have some confidence, dude! Don't give them ANY leeway at this point. Obama is up in the polls because people have confidence in him. We should be planting seeds to encourage that confidence, not questioning his ability to lead in ANY circumstance, but being confident in his ability to lead in ALL circumstances. I'd take Obama over a million McCains in that and just about any other situation I can possibly think of.
- What else should I expect from a 24 hour news cycle that is obsessed with controversy and story lines and not actual issues and actual leadership? If BO has it sown up now, what's going to sell papers, attract viewership and increase ad revenue for the next month? By periodically including these types of statements and hypotheticals they can keep things interesting by having it both ways. Meanwhile, the Republican scare tactics of the last 8 years are not working.
Again, I apologize for the rant. I am not trying to make light of the very real issue of terrorism. And I am not insinuating any type of conspiracy theory whatsoever. I'm just sick and tired of the assumption being not only that the Republicans are the only ones capable of protecting us from the big, bad terrorists, but that they are also the only ones who give enough of a damn about this country to do so.
And Democrats should be the LAST ones to keep perpetuating this myth.