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February 10, 2004

Clark Fades Away

The horses are starting to realize that even though they haven't reached the backstretch, the wagers are all changing. Placing and showing don't mean anything here. It's winner take all.

We might like to pretend that the Democratic primaries are something other than a horserace, but that's foolish. Had the Democrats been able to stop so many candidates from getting started, people wouldn't be so concerned about who was left. But this has been a battle royale from the beginning. Yet can anyone say that the differences between the candidates was so enormous that a great deal of time was necessary for the public to pick and choose? No. What was the difference between Harkin and Clinton back in the 90s? Who knows? Who indeed cares? There have only ever been this season, front runners and dark horses, but they were all on the same path. Beat Bush.

All the Democrats really care about is putting a Democrat in the Oval Office, which is actually more of the same stupidity that put GWBush in office. Kerry is going to be the man, but all his games of 'I woulda' don't mean a hill of beans. What's more important is his 'I'm gonna', and now is the time to pay close attention to what he's saying, but more importantly, what he's capable of.

Deep down in my gut, I'm glad Bush went to war, because I really would have a difficult time thinking what would become of the Empire had we not. In a time when Janet Jackson's breast can make our broadcast media jump through hoops it's a good thing to know that there are some people who are serious enough to fight and die. The sooner we have a real War Channel on cable, the better. It seems that only War is big enough to yank American heads out of American sphincters these days. If that's what it takes to keep this nation robust, sobeit. Remember we have a generation of children who think of Barney when they hear the melody to 'When the Saints Go Marching In'. Do I believe that War Is Good For The Health Of The Nation? Yeah, for about 3 more years. Bring me Bin Laden's head, discombobulate the jihadists and then we can sip tea.

That Clark has faded away still provides a minor discomfort. It's not so clearly the economy, stupid and these Wars are not complete. I'd rather have a soldier as Commander in Chief than someone who can be snookered by ideological policy wonks. I grumble a lot about Rumsfeld's lording over the Pentagon, but I have no new stories about that. Still, it concerns me that the politics of GWBush's terse speechery leave so much to be interpreted and second-guessed. If he wasn't so damned thick there would have been many more phrases from his lips than 'WMD's. When I need sanity on these matters, I have to read Tony Blair. Clark, I think, would have given me more satisfaction. We still have North Korea and Iran to deal with.

So the reason I am wary of Kerry is because I know that as a Senator, he knows exactly what he needs to do in order to reverse the Republican flotsam which has become part of the shoreline since Clinton left office. So he's likely to generate waves to wash that back out to sea and leave his own Democratic jetsam. None of that will matter if he doesn't make the big call and raise taxes on everybody. If that's what it takes to get the country right, he'd better do that - we all know Republicans don't have the balls.

Being a Republican gives me an out, of course. I can accentuate my isolation from the wage slaves and wangle my way through as a pseudo-rich person. I know I'll do some of that anyway, but I still retain enough patriotism to care about the Domestic Agenda. Not for ideological reasons mind you. I just like Americans to do well. So I can find ways to profit through four years of Nanny Statism and not lose my mind like Freepers do.

The Democrats will show us how hungry they are to beat Bush. As I said before, I can live with that if it's not Gephardt, Dean or Kucinich. Lieberman always rubbed me the wrong way so I'm glad it's not him. That Clark is falling off is only insignificant because Kerry is now the man to beat (who won't be). A Democratic populist is the last thing this nation needs while we are on the front burner of geopolitical change.

So let's start looking at Kerry real hard.

Posted by mbowen at February 10, 2004 09:09 PM

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