Sometime in the next six months, supporters of all but one of the candidates running for the Democratic nomination are going to be disappointed. Based on comments here since Monday night, quite a few Kosopolitans are going to be downright furious.
My concern: Will they be so angered by the outcome that they decide to give the Democratic Party the finger?
I understand the frustration. My own politics have put me on the margins of the party since before I could vote, and since 1968 I've been tempted repeatedly to cast a blank ballot or support a third-party candidate in protest of business as usual ... or to just stay home. But I never succumbed, though sometimes I felt as if I had to scrub down after departing the voting booth. And I often looked at various Democratic behavior in the White House with dismay, disgust and despair.
This time around hasn't fulfilled my idealistic dreams. The candidate closest to my views never had a chance. Still, early on, I decided - once again - that whichever of the ten candidates then in the running captured the nomination, I would stay ABB.
I've not changed my mind.
The reason is simple. I'm not given to doomsday scenarios, but having lived through the reigns of LBJ, Nixon and Reagan, I can say without hesitation that the current inhabitant of the White House gives me more worries about the future of this country than any of those men ever did. Another four years of Bush - especially if complemented with a continuing GOP majority in the House and Senate, as well as a couple of Supreme Court appointments - will be disastrous well beyond 2008. In short, Americans will be screwed.
To avoid that consequence, we have to come out victorious in what will be, by the most optimistic accounts, an election as close as 2000. Therefore, the Democratic candidate (flawed as he may be) needs every volunteer and every voter who can be mustered. Every deserter will raise the odds of defeat, a second term for Bush.
Is there any scenario for which ABB fails on its merits? If so, I'd love to hear it.
Take the poll.
