McCain was behind in the polls being trampled consistently by Obama until late August. He chose Palin which electrified not ‘the base’ as the pundits are now saying but everyone. It had been a long drawn out campaign everyone was well known and genuinely this woman plucked from obscurity piqued the interest of everyone outside stalwart Democrats.
Her failure to make good on that freshness by revealing too limited a knowledge of international affairs, looking like she lacked credibility to carry the office should McCain pass away in office, embarking on a shopping spree of $150,000 and in the latter days plotting her own career beyond 2008 election. All of this certainly failed to make good the boost in the polls that she had initially given McCain. But failing to convert on promise and ‘losing it’ for the Presidential nominee are two very different things.
Palin was McCain’s choice. All the evidence shows that he had not done enough homework. But he was always going to have a tough time to differentiate himself from an unpopular President Bush. But he was always going to have a tough time in the present financial crisis. One of his least significant problems was that he had a running mate who was a bit too passionate, a bit too wet behind the ears and a bit too provincial for the majority of America to accept.
The Republicans are in trouble when the legendary Karl Rove has produced a map showing a loss for the Republican Party. The only major question now is by what margin Obama achieves a historic landslide. Another footnote is whether or not the Democrats get a majority in the Senate. Election night looks like it belongs to Obama and the Democratic Party. This is a remarkable achievement of disciplined focus and unflappable dexterity that should stand Obama in good stead for the Presidency. His most remarkable achievement in this long race is without doubt not his victory over McCain but rather the unseating of Hilary Clinton the matriarch of the Democrats as well as the most likely candidate for the Democratic Party.
His victory has ridden the tide of discontent, disbelief and incongruity as to what has been happening in the financial world. It should be not doubted that the electorate would hold accountable the party in charge for such circumstances. But is worthwhile to note that the gyrations of the markets are well beyond the control of any one set of politicians and that any reform or reformulation of how the markets work should be carefully considered. One hopes that with victory assured that Obama dispenses with ideological premises for economic change and seeks pragmatic solutions to pragmatic problems.
The role of politics, of our politicians of our Presidents in a democracy is broadly twofold. The first is to represent us, the People. This includes articulating our dreams and hopes as well as our fears and trepidations. The second role is to preside over peaceful and beneficial dialogue that advances the interests of our society. The executive control that most automatically associate with politicians and Presidents is really only a bye-product of these two roles. In this way it can be seen that a mandate to action relies on properly exercised authority and persuasion.
Pat Buchanan was one of the people who stated on CNN that McCain was wrong to make himself party to the jokes of Saturday Night Live as he saw this as a debasement of politics in general and of a would-be President. This is a hard balancing act to make in democracy: Being one of the people, but just maintain the right distance from them in order to exercise the right authority in times of need. McCain has made much of his folksiness in comparison to Obama’s loftiness. But Obama is in no way as lofty as Kerry or even Gore so this attack looks like it will fall short of the target. As a result McCain might have ceded political credibility for folksy charm. On paper this does not look like a good trade.
