Shouldn'ta Couldn'ta Wouldn'ta

Some time yesterday – I couldn’t be bothered to remember when … I think it was daylight - I read a piece at Huffington Post by someone calling himself Rodes Fishburne. About how Gore ought to run again, on the strength of current disaffection with Mr. Bush. You shoulda coulda woulda got *me*! And things would be so much better now! *ahem* Such is Mr. Fishburne’s theme. Here’s my response, buried deep in the comments, and needing, I assert, the light of day in which is might have been conceived – I just can’t be bothered to remember.

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Mr. Fishburne -

You must be wondering why you are wrong, and I'm pleased to be the one who feels himself qualified to inform you. First, your theme centers around the idea of the "comeback." You are correct in maintaining that this is a powerful motif in the American psyche. Your error lies in applying it to Mr. Gore. Winston Churchill, Tony Bennett, FDR - none of these examples you cite had disgraced themselves with an utterly shameful and selfish ploy to undermine their nation. Mr. Gore, in his contesting the election, did do this, and in so doing has disqualified himself from any consideration as a patriot or man of honor. Gore did what Nixon would not do - that Gore's case was the stronger is irrelevant, given Nixon' own statement that he did not repudiate the corrupt outcome in Texas and Chicago because "it would be bad for the country." Lipstick on a pig? Or patriotism? Who can say. But Gore tried to put the lipstick onto himself, and that makes him all the uglier. Selfish. That he is not currently a leader of the disloyal opposition simply further disqualifies him. Out of touch. He might certainly win the Dem nomination, but the present disaffection with Mr. Bush among his base is not that he's too conservative, but not conservative enough. This doesn't bode well for Republicans, but it can be only cold comfort for Dems.

Your second error is contained in your fantasy statement: "If you'd voted for me, we wouldn't be in this mess." You of course must style yourself a liberal, so you will fail to see the bias of the statement. Allow me to point it out: Mess? What mess? The economy is so strong that it creates gratuitous problems - it attracts hordes of illegals. The Iraq war is certainly being lost ... in the media (thanks for that, MSM - you really are trying to make it another Vietnam.) But a reality check reminds us that more and more Iraqi voters turn out for their elections, and this is what sane people call "victory." Victory, you see, is when they run their own sort-of-okay government. What, did you think it was when Iraq becomes the 51st state? Or perhaps you have some other "mess” in mind? Something more existential? Some projection of yours, upon the outer world?

You say that such nostalgia – or rather, Bush-hatred - is "a powerful unspoken reminder that exists behind every campaign speech, every bumper sticker, and every blog posting." Perhaps your prose is simply casual, here, and lacking in rigor. But the ellipsis, of course, is "every liberal speech, bumper sticker, blog." And indeed, for that Leftist 17% of people who lawfully reside in the USA, your statement would be true - they yearn for an alternative to reality. It's just debatable for everybody else.

Wish-fulfillment fantasies are a common thing, sir. They are a coping mechanism. But you haven't served yourself, in publishing your own. Gore is heroically disqualified from serving. Pick someone else. Is Dukakis still alive?

J