Tried to Tie It To Costanza, Couldn't

For years I swore that no black man would be elected president in my lifetime. Hell, I've probably said it here more than once. Just wouldn't happen, I said. No way, not with the millions in the fly-over states refusing to, not with the people I've seen and known myself. And here we are, 3 days away from doing that very thing and proving me wrong (unless I get hit by a bus before Tuesday, of course.)

But as great and historic as this is, let's not pat ourselves on the backs too much for our "open mindedness" et al - let's remember that it took a COMPLETELY DISASTROUS eight years for people to finally say "fuck it, anything for a change." (and I mean the entire 8 years - I get annoyed when experts act as if the only reason Obama may win is cause of the financial collapse of September, as if McCain was way out ahead before then, which simply is not true.) I suppose there is a weird duality to history that makes great men out of such calamitous things; it's great that Abe Lincoln was so wise, it's too bad it took a Civil War to showcase it. It's great that we can elect a black man president, it's too bad it took the last eight years to get us there.

But hey, we got there, we're at least going in the right direction. Incredibly sloooooowly as America always does, but we're moving :)

But.

There IS the (slim) possibility that McCain could actually win. And when I think about him winning and the atrocious campaign he's run, I think of James Carville's speech here from The War Room back in 1992 (with some EERIE similarities to today, I think):



Of course negative campaigning has not been stopped, but an Obama win would push back the tide a bit. But a McCain win would open the floodgates to the most vile, vicious, dishonest campaigns of the future. A McCain win would signal that you know what - absolute lies plus race-baiting and flat-out scare tactics DO work, and they will increase tenfold in the next election. Next time, why stop at barely-concealed racism and lies used to scare - why not go all the way? Worked for McCain in '08, why not?

An interesting test placed in our hands, I think.