Free Association

What we have going on is a sort of World Cold War. I’ve alluded to that idea before. It’s a hot war because of Iraq and Afghanistan. Certainly not as hot as any of our world wars -- it’s really only “World” in that respect because it involves several different countries and fronts. Us, far and away, and these moslems. It’s a cold war because our enemies are scattered so broadly. Like the Communists. Not like the Nazis. See? A hybrid, then. There are many nations aligned with our enemy, radical islamism. But we're not actually at war with them. See? Get it? Like there were many communist nations. Understand? But there was only one Nazi nation, and only a few fascist nations. See?

Our various responses to this hybrid will not be innovative. The Left will continue to be craven and self-sabotaging. The Right will continue to be ineffective and obtuse. One runs away from reality, toward fantasy problems like Global Warming, and fantasy solutions like the all-powerful Big Government Wizard. The other shambles forward clutching a knobby club looking for heads to smash. It’s either a wax job or a hairy back, with us.

Then there’s you and me. We aren’t like that, but we have to take sides. All third parties do is get the wrong guy elected. Teddy Roosevelt gave us Wilson, by taking away so many Republican votes from Taft. Sorry, Teddy -- you did. Ross Perot insured that Clinton would be elected. Twice. Without Perot, Bush I would have been in, beyond any doubt. That may have meant that Quayle would have been elected in ’96. If W could win, why not Quayle? Oddly, Then, a President Quayle would have been, in effect, the first W term. Do I have to point out the similarities? These two are practically twins, not just by being verbally incompetent on a heroic scale -- but in terms of philosophy and policies. They are after all the protégés, both, of Bush I.

I’m just musing, today. The last little thought that occurred to me a few minutes ago is about young Master Edwards. What’s his first name again? Billy? Tommy? -- you know … the Dhem candidate. The big-time lawyer. Kerry’s tool. Anyway, I was thinking that he’d be absolutely the worst of the whole lot, either side. Hillary has somehow convinced herself that she’s entitled. Well, that’s what Democrats do. It’s obnoxious, expecting what you haven’t earned, don’t deserve and have no right to -- but it’s very human. Being pulled along by her husband's tail … his coat-tails is in the nature of the world. She's unlikeable and power-hungry and not in it for the good of the country, but that's not uncommon. She would be a disgrace, but not a disaster.

Obama seems like a nice guy. He’s optimistic. He’s a well-spoke white man. Or is he black? -- I get them confused. Anyway, he’s no Bush, is what I meant. Just another lefty, maybe, but we survive lefties. He does have to be careful about how he uses words like "us" -- there's just a tinge of whatever race he is, in that. Ross Perot said "you people" to a black crowd and practically got lynched. He didn't even mean anything by it -- just his way of speaking. But there you go then. Politicians who play the us/them game shouldn't be elected. I don't suppose that's Obama, though. He wouldn't disgrace himself publicly like that. What, is he Dog the Bounty Hunter?

But Edwards goes beyond lawyer phony. He’s more, or is it less, than just an expensive haircut. He’s got the money, earned it, sort of, suing doctors, so he can spend it as he pleases. It's the American Way, while it lasts, and Edwards is a capitalist, I suppose, theoretically, privately at least. But he’s a divider, running on the "Two Americas" -- one, the bloated plutocrats like you and me, who are busy oppressing the vast horde of faceless ciphers sharecropping our cotton fields and toiling in our coal mines and … uh, well I seem to have lost the thread of my thought. Something about how wretchedly Dickensian America is nowadays, and how a new Edwardian era would save us? None of that is likely to commend our handsome Young Turk of the Senate. It's not congruent with reality, and it's profoundly negative, and cynical. What’s dangerous about Edwards is that he would be, exactly, another Carter. Just an impression, just a smile, virtually untested and without a meaningful moral center.

It’s an entirely intuitive evaluation on my part. But I’m an intuitive guy, and I feel very comfortable just letting my mind wander. No one will judge me. Everyone likes me.


J