Less Vitriol, Please  

It's that time again, when politically-dispirited Americans talk about leaving the country. This year seems more distressing than when John Kerry was sentencing the nation to four more years of Bush-Cheney, perhaps because you’d have thought we might have learned something the last time.

My sister Julia left more than 30 years; she always had an affinity for Great Britain. She raised a family there and now in her second half-century has become a teacher of socially-disadvantaged children. She called wondering how I was getting on with the filling of the fourth seat at the quadrennial election table.

I'm wouldn’t move; this is my country, whoever is president. And vice president. Pshaw, said Julia, you don’t think this great country of ours wouldn’t elect McCain-Palin? They voted Bush in twice.

Yes, well, maybe I’m naive, but I think Americans want something different this time. They’ve had enough of the vitriol of the past eight years. They would like less nay-saying and more new ideas. I think many are put off by the hatred spewed at the so-called liberal media and the commie-terrorist Democrats.

I couldn’t watch the Republican convention. Not with people like Lieberman, Guiliani, and Thompson at the podium. I particularly avoided Palin because I knew I would be disappointed. Reading the news wires was enough to confirm my apprehension. She gave a great speech, except that it wasn’t about coming together as a nation. It was, as so many described it, red meat for the far right. From what I’ve read she makes a great attack wolf.

But it’s not clear that "mocking" Obama will play very well across the country. One of the reasons why he succeeded was because he mostly stayed on the high road. My guess is that after another two month of lower home values and high prices for food and fuel, the sharp bite of the Gorgeous Gov may not be enough to overcome the gnashing teeth of angst over the economy.

 

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