"I am rather inclined to silence, and whether that be wise or not, it is at least more unusual nowadays to find a man who can hold his tongue than to find one who cannot."
From The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume IV, "Remarks at the Monogahela House" (February 14, 1861), p. 209.
Even almost 150 years prior, President Lincoln astutely observed that the American people were inclined towards rhetoric than judged commentary. In this historic quagmire of our Presidential election driven by daily Gallups, I've comforted myself by reading history - seeing the results of previous elections good or bad to understand the seemingly incongruent choices we make when reason would seem to make the choice clear. Understanding our history, to me, can partially answer the questions I'm sure many are asking today:
How can McCain/Palin be so close (and ahead in the Gallup today)? What is wrong with America?
Lincoln's observation is not a new one. As he has shown, the genius of his thinking is expressed by the paucity of his words. Very few have been able to do this - even Obama does not approach his level - yet. But our society doesn't believe in this at this point, collectively. Our nature is to tend towards individual excess, excused as a way to protect oneself and express one's freedom. There's nothing wrong with that. But it is entirely individualistic. As a result - we tend towards individual opinion and heresay when reason and logic stands in opposition.
The GOP understands this. They believe in it, they revel in it, and they rely on it. To distract facts, truth, and reason they appeal to our less disciplined nature and engage in a politic entirely dependent on sex, lies, and racism. Are they flamingly sexist, dishonest, or racist? Hardly. They mask it well and only because the American public buys it. If we demand reason - they will give what they can. But that's the point President Lincoln made so well, Americans don't demand reason - they demand distraction.
Outwardly, the nomination of Governor Palin as a Vice Presidential candidate would seem to defeat sexism. But taken on a deeper basis - it, in fact, becomes a subtle expression of sexism. No one will argue that her nomination is historic. No matter what you think of it, it is monumental that we have another woman on a Presidential ticket. But the GOP hopes that this is all that the American public will notice. They want it to distract us from their underlying sexism. They use it as their shield against the liberal hoplites and proclaim any attack against her sexist. That's convenient for them. But the reality is that hiding her away, calling her a hockey mom, and making questionable rationalizations of her experience, they are engaging in a clandestine form of sexism. That is all they see women for - hockey moms with no national experience, willing to do what their white male bosses ask of them. If they were not sexist, they would be touting her leadership, intelligence, and strength as a person. But they can't - because she has done nothing to substantiate that - no matter what spin the GOP gives. Insulting to many women - but of course, the American public eats it up. Why? Its comfortable for them and satisfies their sexist guilt enough to satiate their appetite for distraction.
As concerning and deeply insulting as sexism is, lying is another GOP weapon of mass distraction. Kossacks know this tactic incredibly well. Hell, the previous administration would lie and lie and lie and then say - oops. But we didn't call it that. Americans called it obfuscation or misstatements or mental mind games. Somehow, Americans forgot to translate this GOP tactic to the McCain/Palin ticket - even when they did it repeatedly during the RNC. Who can forget the second half of Palin's speech? Full of lies and parsing that only political science buffs could fully delineate the true content. McCain's speech? Lies again. The problem is that Americans want something to be said. And we'd rather hear sensational lies than the lackluster truth. We listen to pundits and talking heads not to find the truth and reason - we use them to confirm our inner fears. Why do we still do this? Because no one calls it for what it is. A big fat lie. Imagine if every network analyst said that the GOP is outwardly lying to you (except Maddow and Olbermann who have said they are lying). That would be a factual statement - they lie. And the GOP uses lies better than any other political party in the history of the United States. They lie - and we need to call it as such.
Finally, the big elephant in the room that seems no analyst will touch in a straight manner. Racism. Lets face it. If Senator Barack Obama was Senator Barry Olsen from the Midwest, it would be a landslide. If Barack Obama's daughter was 17 and got pregnant, and the father of her child had a myspace page as insulting as Levi's but Levi was black? McCain would have won the election. By not addressing the issues and attacking his policies, the GOP is effectively attacking who Barack Obama is and indirectly applying their criticisms to his race. No matter how you cut it. Inexperienced? Despite 18 months of campaigining in which he changed the way campaigns were run and beat a strong political machine in Clinton? Flashy with no substance? Its like the undercurrent of sports where the white athlete is always a hard working smart guy but the black athlete is always flashy and talented. Its been proven wrong in sports so many times, but the GOP is using it to subtly put it in the minds of Americans. Not patriotic? Not American? How convenient to paint Obama as a person who does not resemble most Americans. That is racist. Not small town enough? Its not like Obama was from Los Angeles or New York City. His mom is from Kansas. He grew up in Hawaii - not the major metropolis I would expect based on GOP descriptions of Obama. I will say it now, and I have said it many times in personal conversation - the GOP is engaging and taking advantage of subtle racism to win over the hearts and minds of white America. And no one, not one analyst, not one talking head, not one so called political science expert on the networks is calling them on it. But of course, if it becomes about race than we'll galvanize the racists against Obama. Well then, that says as much about how far we still have left to go.
So yes, I'll go there. Sex. Lies. Racism. The GOP's weapons of mass distraction. They have nothing else to run on. The country is in shambles on so many levels. The world dislikes us. And yet they're still in the game, and today, maybe leading the game. The nation that Lincoln described is still the nation we are today. We've progressed on many fronts - but we'd rather listen to quantity than quality. And that will be, if it ever happens, the demise of our nation. Some have said, why don't you just leave then and go to another country? I can't. I love America. It is still the only place that allows people like me (son of a Vietnamese immigrant who has become a surgeon) to rise through the ranks with hard work. I am a patriot and an avid US history buff who still finds amazement in the intricacies of America. And like the patriots here on DailyKos - I'll speak my mind, I'll go there, and I'll hope as a nation we use our mind in making this historic decision on November 4th.
Thanks - and sorry for being such a long first post.