Monday, November 5, 2012

This Too, Shall Pass



 When Lincoln reflected on the state of the nation in 1859, the bloody internecine warfare in Kansas and Nebraska over slavery, the outbreaks of violence in the chambers of Congress itself, he said,  "This to shall pass." and he added, "How consoling in our depths of affliction." Of course, there were more travails to come. But he was right: Eventually, the nation rode out the dark times.

Should Romney and the Republicans prevail tomorrow, despite our best efforts to deny them, we can remember this.

There have been some odious Republican Presidents, and some odious Republican presidencies, but even in them, some good things happened.  As sleazy as Warren G. Harding was, he was one of the first presidents in the 20th century to speak out, at least mildly, for improving the lot and rights of African Americans. Nixon tried to institute extensions of health care coverage. 

We cannot know what Romney will do--which is a very good reason to vote against him. He simply tells each audience whatever he thinks they want to hear.  He is a man for whom truth is always mutable,  and he can convince himself the only thing that really matters in this world is what happens to him. In this, he is a classic sociopath, without any real capacity for genuine sympathy or connection with other people.  In that sense, Gail Collins got it right when she encapsulated her concept of Romney the man, as the guy to lashed his dog to the top of the car--it worked for Mr. Romney, if not for the dog.

He has played people for fools his whole life, and made a fortune doing it. We'll see if he can play enough people for fools tomorrow.

5 comments:

  1. Mad Dog,
    As you've mentioned before as well-perception can be a strange thing... In the latest edition of Time a reader wrote in regarding last week's cover story on Lincoln and said "At the risk of being partisan-I am a Romney supporter-I saw not a loss in the the third debate but a Lincolnesque quality to his agreeing with Barack Obama." We look at Mitt and see a reprehensible charlatan and con-man, incapable of telling the truth and the reader sees Lincoln. Good God. What does the ability to make that leap bode for tomorrow...

    Maud

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  2. Maud,

    One man's slime is another woman's salad dressing, I suppose.

    --Mad Dog

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  3. Don't give up so quickly. Close enough now to wait for the results of the actual election. Hopefully they will be rewriting the Redskin Rule after tomorrow. Remember, "correlation" is not the same as "cause and effect". I'm thinking that the Redskin's pathetic performance has more to do with bad coaching and a terrible owner than with the upcoming election.

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  4. Agreed. What really bothers me is the phenomenon we have seen this election, to which Maud alludes. Hearing people say, "Well, Obama wasn't bipartisan. Time to give someone else a chance. Next man up." Chris Matthews points out in the past there was the truth squad, namely the dreaded "lame media" but now, with Koch money, you can simply hog the airways and drown out the corrections. Truth is how much air time you can buy.
    As you say, we'll find out tomorrow what this country is made of.

    --Mad Dog

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  5. Never underestimate the stupidity of the American people - that is what seems to account for the success of Fox, Rush, Hannity, Beck,etc.

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