I used to believe ABB was legitimate, but I no longer believe that.
As a Dean watcher turned supporter going all the way back to Dean's Fund for a Healthy America gig, I was confident that a good candidate like Howard Dean with solid vision, intelligence, common sense, and a proven record could get a fair shot in this nation. When his candidacy started to take off, all of my hopes were validated as thousands responded to his no-nonsense straight talk. What I really didn't anticipate and consider fully at the time was how viscerally the media and the Democratic Party would react and how savage they would become in their response.
Here's what I now believe: I now believe that the quality of a candidate's views and record are completely irrelevant in the big picture, and that if by some quirk of fate such a candidate gets by the initial media and Party filters--like Howard Dean did--they'll simply just regroup like a pack of wolves and chase that candidate down until he drops. Agents for change will not be tolerated.
I also believe that the American electorate has ceded the selection of a presidential candidate to the media and the Party structure because they are too lazy and ill-informed to think for themselves. They are too busy seeking instant gratification to bother with a thoughtful and principled approach to something as important as a Presidential election. While it is politically incorrect to say so aloud, I've always believed the intelligence of people is greatly taxed under even the most benign conditions, so adding the burden of a considered approach and response to the media and its election coverage merely overloads their circuits. Enter the breezy candidate with an appropriate mixture of gravitas and windy rhetoric, and they're sold--and relieved. No matter who is elected, they'll get by.
I conclude, therefore, that it doesn't matter one iota who is president anymore. When fifty percent of the American people view George Bush favorably, just who is unacceptable as President? I don't know--let's ask the media. That said, even if a Democrat were elected, I have absolutely no faith in the integrity of any of the other candidates, no faith in their co-opted visions, and no respect for their derivative and expedient stands on the issues. They are a worthless lot and would accomplish nothing meaningful.
The Democratic Party leadership ought to be strung up collectively and hung out to dry. Since that is unlikely to happen, I will content myself with agitating at the local level for change within the town committee structure.
The change that I thought was possible through Howard Dean's candidacy is not possible, and while I will continue to support his goals individually, I see no possibility of any meaningful change in this nation even if George Bush is beaten by John Kerry in November.
I've always suspected that people get the government they deserve, but now I believe it with all my heart.