Posted by
C. L. Palmer on Monday, October 20, 2008 9:15:19 PM
Let's face the music. John McCain is a political nerd. He can't express himself clearly. His mannerisms are stiff and nervous. He grins self-consciously, as if afraid someone might notice.
Barry Obama, on the other hand, is a jock. He's self-confident and assured. He is smooth. He says what he means with such suave grace that we'd fain ignore the content in favor of the presentation. Sure, he's a Marxist, but he's cool!
The content of Obama's message would be enough to give the race to McCain if McCain's message were significantly different. It's not, though. Obama wants to socialize health care. McCain wants to socialize the mortgage business. They're both socialists; the key difference is not how much but how fast. Frankly, I'm somewhat more afraid of the slow descent into communist hell than a quick dunk. A full plunge might generate some outrage. I've seen society slide gently down the crap-hole long enough to realize that incrementalism is far more dangerous than extremism. If you can change the definition of normal by slow alterations of the social fabric, you'll eventually get where you're headed. McCain would continue the slow slide, while Obama would dive into the deep end.
At the end of the day, with no clear distinction (in spite of the demonization by both parties), we're stuck deciding between a nerdy semi-socialist and a cool Marxist. Either way, we're screwed!