So I've figured out how this election should go-
I have said time and again that the only way that I'd actually have to make a decision in the upcoming presidential election was if it wound up being between Obama and McCain. Well, lo and behold. So now I've come up with a vaguely ideal outcome (for me). I fully realize that most of the people who read this will hate it, but most of you aren't IL residents, so you can't really be expected to see the beauty in it.
Make it a nice and close race, and have Obama lose- but just barely. My current theory is that whoever winds up in office next time around is gong to wind up being heavily disliked by most of the American people, for two reasons: first, we've kind of gotten used to disliking the executive branch, and that's a hard habit to lose. Second, there are certain expectations of the office which the American people are inevitably going to have of whoever gets into office, and these expectations will be impossible to meet. Sorry, but we've had eight years of a president who has made us an international laughingstock, and that's a mess that's going to take some time to clean up.
So I'd rather have McCain in office for this thankless task, also for two reasons: between the two of them, I suspect McCain is less wedded to his standing with the American people, so when his numbers tank he won't freak. And second, though I know Obama supporters hate to hear this, he really does have more experience. We know he won't break under the pressure.
While McCain is in office (and this is the truly brilliant part of my plan), Obama can come back home and kick our current gubernatorial twit out of office so said twit can get his jail time over sooner. Because we all know that's going to happen eventually. Obama will get yes, more experience, and also, I hope, a nice record of cleaning up a corrupt bureaucracy, out of the deal. Given the fact that the last time most people I know had any respect for the IL governor, I was in grade school, it would be a nice change.
And McCain can do his two terms, with any luck achieve my other ulterior motive of sending the current GOP leadership into some serious therapy and getting the party back onto solid ground. And then Obama can have it- provided, of course, no one better shows up in the meantime.
Make it a nice and close race, and have Obama lose- but just barely. My current theory is that whoever winds up in office next time around is gong to wind up being heavily disliked by most of the American people, for two reasons: first, we've kind of gotten used to disliking the executive branch, and that's a hard habit to lose. Second, there are certain expectations of the office which the American people are inevitably going to have of whoever gets into office, and these expectations will be impossible to meet. Sorry, but we've had eight years of a president who has made us an international laughingstock, and that's a mess that's going to take some time to clean up.
So I'd rather have McCain in office for this thankless task, also for two reasons: between the two of them, I suspect McCain is less wedded to his standing with the American people, so when his numbers tank he won't freak. And second, though I know Obama supporters hate to hear this, he really does have more experience. We know he won't break under the pressure.
While McCain is in office (and this is the truly brilliant part of my plan), Obama can come back home and kick our current gubernatorial twit out of office so said twit can get his jail time over sooner. Because we all know that's going to happen eventually. Obama will get yes, more experience, and also, I hope, a nice record of cleaning up a corrupt bureaucracy, out of the deal. Given the fact that the last time most people I know had any respect for the IL governor, I was in grade school, it would be a nice change.
And McCain can do his two terms, with any luck achieve my other ulterior motive of sending the current GOP leadership into some serious therapy and getting the party back onto solid ground. And then Obama can have it- provided, of course, no one better shows up in the meantime.