“Hegel remarks somewhere that all great, world-historical facts and personages occur, as it were, twice. He has forgotten to add: the first time as tragedy, the second as farce.”
It would be neat to try and force the selection of two women as running-mate for the U.S. Presidency. It just doesn't work though. Each selection made sense at the time, but for different reasons. In the first case, Mondale had no realistic chance of winning against the very popular Reagan--Indeed, the President won every state except Mondale's home state of Minnesota. It made sense to at least make history by his selection of Rep. Ferraro. If there was any "tragedy" it was only in that Rep. Ferraro and Sen. Mondale went back to the relative obscurity from which they came. The present case is similar in that he made a pick which was logical given his situation: He needed someone young and dynamic (a rising star), someone who could shore-up the conservative and evangelical base and it would help if it could be a woman. Gov. Palin fits all of these criteria.
Farce? No. Tragedy? No. Still, history in the making is interesting even if doesn't fit dramatic templates.
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3 comments:
I am big PALEN lover! She's sharp, not afraid to take the established politics as usual on, a comprimiser who reaches across the aisle(especially with big oil) a REAL person - said that, "I got into politics for the right reasons" (sounds as if a little insignificant quote but it isn't), and is HOT for 44. Go McCain! Obama shoulda picked Hillary, they definitely would have won. Now it's a little closer, some of the conservative base will migrate towards her (therefore McCain)(minus the people who are turned off due to the 17 yr. old now having a baby)
Yes, I like Palin too. What I hope though, is that my good feelings for her do not color my judgement as to the wisdom of the choice.
I can't help but think that at least on a tactical level, it was smart: It got all the conservatives hyped-up and made the left apoplectic. McCain has gotten all up inside the Obama camp's decision loop, if the Republicans can stay nimble, they might just pull-off an upset in what should be the Democrat's year.
I still think there's a long way to go for the Republicans in this low popularity time for Bush. The choice will come down to a handful of battleground states. Obama seems to have had a strong grassroots organization, unlike the conservative wing of the Republicans who may be falling in line here and there. Agents of disruption are trying to find baggage from her, hopefully there's not much more in the closet. Mark my word - after the VP and Presidental debates on TV, we'll all get better feelings on this. Going to be fun.
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