Clinton is winning momentum because of fear.
Fear breeds conservatism.
Clinton has deliberately lied several times in this campaign.
So what we have here is Bush-lite, or Bush-tenfold, depending on one's pov.
Why does this matter and what does it have to do with Pant-wetting?
I'll tell you.
One of the most inspiring aspects about Obama has been his point of stating that we must, if we truly care about our nation and the safety of our generations to come, sit down and talk with those whom we disagree.
Meanwhile, Hillary and McCain have persisted with saber-rattling and empty threats that they may end up having to follow through on one day, to great harm to the American people and America as a nation.
How does this play with the American people? Well, so far it has won Bush two elections and is helping Clinton destroy the Dems' chances in November '08.
Why, how, does this work so well on the American voter?
As I mentioned earlier, fear. Exploited, manipulated, deftly used and channeled into trusting even the most proven liar(s).
The key, is that it's not the kind of fear that we usually can admit to, or even recognize. We think we're just being strong, as opposed to defensive, firm as opposed to reactionary, focused as opposed to lacking the ability to appreciate context, clever as opposed to completely missing the point and trying to cover it with indignant snarks.
As is demonstrated on any site in the blogosphere, as individuals, it is the exception rather than the rule to have the ability to discuss difficult issues without devolving into personal attacks or demeaning language or attempts to belittle or discredit the opponent.
Obama has set a bar for us as a nation that raises expectations in many traits. This one of which I write, (call it prudence perhaps?) is not a common commodity. And to me, this is to be expected, but not accepted. Leaders should be held to and achieve a higher standard of behavior on average - not only because of their specific responsibilities, but because it will have an influence on the people they represent. Thus making us all a little better.
As some might say, lord knows we could use some being better.
And we will never get there if we cannot even have a conversation.
Note: this does not translate into simply "agreeing to disagree" either. In fact, that over-abused term is most often a sign of the same lack of fortitude that leads to the problem outlined above. At times, it's an improvement, yet at other times it's even worse, silence being a great betrayer. In any case, the dialogue is stopped, the other person is usually less likely to share their honest views in the future, and all at a cost to our progress as a nation, a people, and all of humanity.
If we hope to see that our grandchildren have anywhere near the standards we have today, be they living standards or principles in society, we best get past this nasty habit of moistening or britches and lashing out at anyone and anything we think is deserving before challenging ourselves to dare see things from a completely different perspective than our own.
Unfortunately at the moment, it appears the opposite trend is occurring, boosting Hillary's overwrought ego and her campaign in the process. The pant-wetters are uniting indeed, against the "unknown", and the "different".
And yet, even those who might despise this fact, might be frustrated and even angry at the current turn of events, can and do still suffer from the same short-coming discussed here. Instead of real discussion, there's abject objection to real discussion, or even reality itself. Mention Obama's hurdles, get smacked down with "hope"; mention hope in the face of the current challenges, get smacked down by those claiming to be more sober and rational; mention a completely surreal parallel to a horse race, noting the tragedy aside, get smacked down with all sorts of accusations from tactlessness to species-based callousness.
And it's precisely this sort of thing that leads me to have much fear and loathing about the results on Tuesday. The window to our national habit of narcissism has been jimmied wide open by the former Prez and his missus... and I keep seeing incident after tiny-seemingly-meaningless-and-unrelated incident that seems to hint that that sound I hear is the sound of hot cynical air rushing in and the cool fresh air of hope rushing out the American window.
To be clear, I hope not, and I am not willing to give up that hope at present. But I will most certainly not shrink from addressing it, or any other topic that seems worthwhile, or at least oddly interesting and worth discussing.