Lets get right to the point, we got spoiled. For months it was all good news, all the time. Obama was, despite an improving but still rough economy, relatively coasting to reelection. And then he forgets to show up ONE TIME, and all hell breaks loose. But here's the thing, I am not talking about the MSM or voters or the Campaign. I am talking about us, the left, and the dailykos community in particular.
For the past couple months, the majority of conservatives I have talked to would almost never doubt Romney, saying "Obama was toast" no matter what the polls said. Now, I don't think we should ever sink to that level, but there is something that can be taken from this. Why is it that lately when the going gets tough in any election, we start bed-wetting? Does one PEW poll make us forget why it is we have to fight Romney every step of the way? Does one bad debate make us feel the need to abandon this President who has prevented a depression and turned the economy around?
We should acknowledge bad news, yes, but instead of hand-wringing, it is time to rally around our President and our candidates for Senate and Congress. There is nothing we can do to change last week's debate, but there is a lot we can do to change how the country reacts to it.
When undecideds see us reacting like MSNBC did in its moment of weak despair, it truly becomes perceived as an "emperor has no clothes" moment even if that is far away from the truth.
So PEW had Obama down 49-45, so what? It was a poll taken at what may end up being the high point of the campaign for Mitt Romney, which is what it will be if Obama debates him next week the way I know he can, but didn't at all on October 3rd.
Kerry won his first debate. I was only a sophomore in high school at the time, but even I knew it and rejoiced. And the race was just as close. Unfortunately for us and the nation, Bush's supporters did NOT surrender and despair, like we are today. So when you hand-wring, you are below a Bush supporter. When you post snarky comments about Obama's bad night, you are wasting time better spent making calls and registering voters.
I am not in high school anymore, now I am a law student. Which means I have little time to help in the way I want to. But I also work one day a week serving tables to help cover gas money (and in California, in particular need at the moment) and some expenses. And yet, any time I hear a major Romney lie or too much negativity on dailykos, I click that quick $4 donation button on the Obama emails. I think I am well over $100 now. The point is, in one way or another, everyone can help.
Rasmussen, one of our least friendly pollsters, has the race tied and Obama at 49% approval, and yet, if I didn't know any better and just read some of the comments here, we have lost. Really?
We have come too far to lose this election. Many, if not all, of the gains of the last four years will be lost. Mitt Romney will get to take credit for an economy that is projected to add 12 million jobs in the next four years. And the Conservative Majority on the Supreme Court will be solidified for another generation, perhaps even increased (Justice Ginsburg, bless her heart, is not getting any younger).
Stop surrendering. Stop whining. It is time to win.