A Pilgrim’s Digression

Yesterday evening was blustery and wet. When I left work, rain was pouring from the sky comme une vache qui pisse, as the French say, and it was being blown nearly horizontal by strong gusts of wind. I actually saw a woman struggling with an umbrella that had been turned inside out by the wind, and I stopped to help her; however, it was obvious the umbrella was broken. Some of its spines were loose from the fabric. What’s more, the woman was cradling her cell phone in her ear with her shoulder as she struggled with the umbrella; she would not even get off the phone to say “Thank You.” She just kind of nodded and waved me on, after about half a minute of me trying to help her.

By that time, I was well soaked, despite my own umbrella. I had been helped along in my unwelcome drenching by passing drivers. The drains in D.C. flood quite happily with very little provocation, and on First street between the Capitol and Supreme Court, there was a veritable river flowing. I swear there were whitecaps on the water. Most drivers skirted it. One jerk decided it would be fun to drive through it just enough to splash me. The wave of water absolutely soaked me. It felt like someone had tossed a five gallon bucket of muddy water on me.

That feeling of being pissed on by Fate just about describes my feelings yesterday concerning the election and the political fortunes of John Kerry. Woke up yesterday to the Washington Post/ABC poll that shows Bush with a significant lead over Kerry, even with the margin of error factored in—51% Bush, 44% Kerry. Then when I got home last night and changed my clothes, I heard that the Gallup also has Bush with a sizable lead over Kerry. It’s depressing. Like a lot of people, I am left wondering “why?” How?”

I am sure if I tuned into some of the Conservative radio programs I used to listen to, I’d find an answer. Limbaugh is probably saying that Kerry’s pessimism on Iraq has backfired. His decline in the polls is directly correlated to his new strategy of going negative on Iraq. Boortz is probably saying much the same thing, perhaps adding that Americans are finally seeing that Kerry has no core of beliefs by which he is guided. That windsurfing ad the Bush campaign put out is just devastating to Kerry; it’s probably the most effective advertisement yet this season. The problem is, the Democrats don’t seem to be answering it. Where are the ads featuring Cheney saying that the Iraqis would greet us with flowers? Where are the ads showing selected segments from Bush’s pre-war speeches, in which he makes all manner of claims about Iraq’s links to terrorism and Saddam’s possession of WMD? Why aren’t the Democrats answering in kind? And where the heck is Edwards? Bright Boy gone fishing, or something?

It’s sad to think about. So I decided last night that from now on, for the sake of my own soul, I am going to try not to be negative anymore about the state of affairs in the Kerry campaign. Though I did not vote in the Democrat primaries, since I am a registered Republican, I have decided to vote for John Kerry in the General Election. I need to keep my critical eye focused on the President more so than Kerry. I hope Democrats in general follow suit. There is a penchant not just for hand-wringing, but for cannibalization within the Democrat party. Unity is not a Democrat strong suit, as it is with the Republican party.

Further depressing me last night was an interview I caught on MSNBC between Chris Matthews and Bill Mahr, neither of whom are conservative, though I have no clue how liberal they are either. I seem to recall that Matthews worked for the Carter Administration, so perhaps we can assume he is a Democrat. I could not believe what I was hearing, though. With a grin, Matthews actually asked Mahr, “So what do you think of the Democratic candidate’s new neon orange hue?” And the two of them sat there and proceeded to help the Republicans along in their campaign to further suggest that Kerry is unmanly. “Maybe he went in for his latest botox treatment and they gave him some “Tan In A Bottle” to go with it,” Mahr said. Both men were really yucking it up.

I suppose if you asked him, Matthews would make some claim to objectivity as the reason why he was discussing such an absolutely irrelevant, but politically damaging subject on his usually serious program.

My hope is that in this forum, if I criticize the way Kerry’s campaign is handling itself, I do not come across as similarly self-destructive. To avoid the kind of —what do you call it? Self-loathing?—on display by Chris Matthews last night, I want to try to remain positive from here until the end of the election. I want Kerry to win. I have come to like him for many reasons. I do like his obvious intelligence. He is not a witty man, but frankly, who cares? We aren’t electing the President of the Standup Comedians Guild. Kerry speaks foreign languages and is well-travelled and cultured, which from my experience tends to make people more
broad-minded and considerate of other points of view. Kerry volunteered for combat service in Vietnam when he didn’t have to, something we should never let people forget, no matter how badly the Republicans try to sully that fact. By every standard, this man is Presidential material. He looks Presidential, acts Presidential even in his waffling (what could be more Presidential than doublespeak and contradicting one’s self?), but he cannot get any traction with ordinary Americans. By “ordinary” I mean Americans who don’t already hate Bush, who may be but probably are not college educated, who don’t pay much attention to the political process, and who are envious and mistrustful of the wealthy.

Kerry’s fortunes may shift in the coming weeks. After the debates, if Bush’s lead does not shrink, or if it (God forbid) widens, then it will be time for worry. Tomorrow is the first and most important debate, but today is gut check day. No more time for complaining, fretting, second-guessing. We’re in the fight now, and we’ve got to play for keeps. I’ve checked my gut, and I still think Kerry can close this deal. Time is on the move, though. If Kerry is a strong finisher, as conventional wisdom says he is, now is the time to finish.