On such an epic level it's hard to wrap your mind around it. Think.... LONG TERM.
No doubt whoever wins the election will mark a very important part of our history, and IMO if Obama wins it will be more significant from a historic standpoint.
What many on the blogosphere don't understand is that intelligent and well-informed people can have the best intentions and still disagree about important issues.
There's no question that it is exceedingly probable that Barack Obama is going to win the Presidency. In my opinion he's going to make a spectacular President. Most of you conservatives will disagree but that's fine. For those conservatives who are more interested in civil and intelligent discourse- and less interested in boogie-man soap operas I respect your opinion.
But here is my prediction for the future. If Obama wins he will forever be ingrained in history books on a level few Presidents share, if for no other reasons because he will be the first black President.
Since we live in such a media rich age his rise to power and his roadblocks will undoubtedly be well documented and retold throughout time. Because of this John McCain is destroying his legacy on an enormously long-term basis. 200 years from now our history books will talk about Barack Hussein Obama, the first black President and the country's reaction. It will be told how his political opponent went to great lengths to portray him as a terrorist or terrorist sympathizer, how in McCain rallies death threats were shouted. It will be told how many on the right tried to portray him as Muslim during a time when few accepted the Muslim faith in the land of the free. It will be told how John McCain and the right questioned his patriotism and his dedication to the troops. It will be told how they even shamelessly went after his wife, Michelle Obama. As our young students learn about American history they will look back on this period thinking, "how sad." Just like we view our wrongdoings in the past with regret, so will we in the future.
Just imagine during the Jetson era young children sitting in school watching beautiful, historic and inspirational Obama speeches, and then watching John McCain and the right's ugly rhetoric. McCain has been out to make his mark in history, but I don't think he's thought about what that mark will look like. Sad indeed.