Red Room Where the Writers Are

I felt bad for John McCain tonight.  Not so bad that I would ever consider voting for him but bad nonetheless.  He looked far less like a life-long politician and statesman than a confused man who realizes he has thrown away his legacy to finish second.  I can’t remember another bona fide American hero that has so tarnished his own legacy.  What’s worse is that it almost appears to be against his will, as if he sold his soul to the Rovian devils and is learning that rarely is that a smart move.

Refusing to shake Obama’s hand after the debate, referring to a United States Senator and Presidential candidate as “That one”, these are not signs of a seasoned politician but more a man I expect to be yelling at me to get off his lawn.  Much has been written about McCain’s temper but rather than show bellicosity McCain was petty and rude.  For a man that has been praised for years by his colleagues and opponents for his balanced personality, he certainly seems to be showing few signs of it.

Obama came off as he has more and more the last few weeks.  Poised, engaged and Presidential.  He doesn’t allow himself to be rattled, as he did in some of the early primary debates, and he stays calm regardless of what is thrown at him.  It is this demeanor that has caused his poll numbers to skyrocket in the wake of the economic crisis.  While McCain has grown more and more inconsistent, Obama has seemed to swell with confidence.  With the United States at a crossroads, perhaps as close to national calamity as we have come since the Second World War, Obama has painted a portrait of a serious man who can handle serious times.

The uncertainty of the 21^st Century, a time in which we expected American prosperity to grow, has thrown this country for a loop.  Instead of offering plans and policies, McCain and Sarah Palin seem content to offer platitudes.  As they attack Obama’s character, childishly attempting to tie him to a no one like Bill Ayers while the economy crumbles around them, it becomes increasingly obvious who the only choice in this election is.  We can not afford another four years of the last eight.  McCain may say he opposes the Bush Administration on any number of things but it is hard to take him at his word when his campaign style mimics and occasionally one-ups them. 

As I often am, I am reminded of words by one of the greats.  He may pen movies and television but Aaron Sorkin has proven time and time again that he is a true master wordsmith. And so I am reminded of The West Wing every time I hear John McCain or Sarah Palin speak to the American people as if they were children.

“When the president's got an embassy surrounded in Haiti or a keyhole photograph of a heavy water reactor or any of the fifty life-and-death matters that walk across his desk every day, I don't know if he's thinking about Immanuel Kant or not. I doubt it. But, if he does, I am comforted, at least, in my certainty that he is doing his best to reach for all of it and not just the McNuggets. Is it possible we would be willing to require any less of the person sitting in that chair? The low road? I don't think it is.”

I don’t think it is either.