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Martin Zehr, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
October 2, 2008. Yesterday, with beautiful fall weather here in Missouri, John McCain and Michele Obama, wife of the Democratic Party nominee for president, made separate visits to Kansas City. McCain gave his usual assurances regarding his "experience" to an audience of 200 at the Harry Truman Library, implicitly denying the Truman heritage of both political courage and true liberalism, notably in the areas of healthcare and civil rights. Harry, who had the audacity (and courage) to fire General Douglas McArthur, the pompous, arrogant military hero of the Second World War, would likely have exhibited little tolerance for someone like McCain, whose political posturing as of late has become grating as well as boring and lacking any semblance of credibility.
Michele Obama arrived later in teh day, encouraging a crowd of 3000 in the streets of teh 18th and Vine Jazz district to register and vote. Judging by the enthusiasm of the crowd, her powers of persuasion are more than up to the task. It says a lot that, one month before the election, both parties are busy in Missouri, usually a reliable Republican Party state, at least since Lyndon johnson's presidency. The most recent polling indicates a slight preference for Obama in this, the "Show-Me" state, and this sign, at this late date, has to be interpreted with alarm by the McCain campaign.
Of course, the Republicans have many other sources for alarm. The effects of the mismanaged economy of the last eight years are being felt by lower and middle-income economic classes to an extent that arouses extreme degrees of concern over future well-being and an extreme degree of anger toward Bush and the Republicans generally. If the fallout from an idiotic war and the increasing trend toward denying civil liberties has not alarmed the electorate, the visions and reality of economic disaster have served as more than sufficient motivation for choosing a dramatic change of course. It should also be noted that, despite the vestiges of racism still apparent to all but the blind and deaf in this country, it now appears that Barack Obama's odds of being sworn in as our next president in January have significantly improved during the last few weeks. Although a number of factors have contributed to this change in electoral fortunes, it has to be said that, when perceived job peril and economic survival are primary concerns, race suddenly becomes relatively unimportant. If Americans come to believe that Obama can lead the country out of the current economic morass, this will not be a close election.
Other factors, of course, have influenced the current upward course of Obama's fortunes. First among these is his performance in the initial presidential debate. Obama, who has the reputation of being a skilled public speaker, did not exhibit oratorical talent comparable to political icons Bobby Kennedy or Martin Luther King, and was often hesitant in his responses. McCain, on the other hand, consistently appeared confident and assertive, attempting to convey the message that he could lead us out of the wilderness of current sufferings and that his rival's lack of experience rendered him ill-equipped for the task. As in all such "debates," substance is trumped by form, but viewers did come away from the encounter with a view of Obama that has served him well, judging by the steady upward tick in the polls since the debate. It was obvious, for example, that Obama can maintain a cool demeanor under fire and that he certainly has the intellectual wherewithal and quickness to effectively counter McCain's attempts to frame him as unqualified. McCain, who never looked at his opponent in this contest, came across as arrogant, like MacArthur, but could not escape Obama's charges that he is too close to the Bush administration to be trusted.
Tonight we also had the opportunity to watch the widely-anticipated clash of vice presidential nominees, likely viewed by a greater section of the American public than that which watched the Obama-McCain matchup. Usually skipped or dismissed as being of little interest, this year's version has attracted as much attention as the Super Bowl, the American counterpart to the World Cup final. All the attention, of course, was focused on Sarah Palin, McCain's choice for running mate, not because she is only the second female to get this far in the political process, but because her public statements during the last few weeks have brought into question what now appears to be the impulsive, and uninformed, judgment of Senator McCain. She had demonstrated a consistent inability to answer direct questions in recent interviews, and the comedian Tina Fey has managed to elicit derisive laughter in her impression of Sarah Palin by merely repeating her statements word-for-word. What appeared, a month ago, to be a cynical, surprising stroke of genius by the "maverick" McCain had become, prior to this evening, an embarassing blunder, rejected soundly by feminists and even the conservatives who rejoiced at her selection a few short weeks ago.
Unfortunately for Governor Palin, her performance this evening did not go far enough to dispel the now firmly-held impression that she is not equipped to handle the complexity and variety of issues confronting any president, or vice president, for that matter. The format of the debate was conducive to her predilection to rely on short, soundbite-length responses, and indeed, she did not sound as confused as she has in her recent interviews, which allowed for longer, more detailed, serious responses. Nonetheless, she could not, despite this "improvement," appear to be as nearly well-informed and ready to lead as did her opponent, Senator Joe Biden. This debate, therefore, likely changes nothing, including the recent trend in favor of the election of Barack Obama.
Of course, the usual caveat is required to conclude these observations, namely, that there are still four weeks to go in the campaign, and events that occur as suddenly as the Wall Street crisis could tip the balance either way. It is also not outside the realm of possibility that intentionally planned campaign moves could affect the outcome, especially when it is considered that the top McCain strategist, Steve Schmidt, is a former colleague of Karl Rove, the political operative who exhibited sufficient genius to convince a large contingent of votors during the last two elections that the phrases "George Bush" and "President of the United States" have something in common. Nevertheless, as these words are written, there are reasons to audaciously hope that, with a little luck and common sense, Americans won't be fooled again, at least for another four years. And, even if Obama succeeds in his quest, there is no reasonable prospect of an immediate clearing-out of the moral and economic garbage left by the Bush administrations.
Still, even uttered under your breath, so no one can hear, the sound of "President Obama" has a nice ring to it, and even a little promise.
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