Some Reflections on the Election

As a U.S. Army Officer, I am not going to publically state who it is that I am supporting for President of the United States in the current elections. Those of you who know me off-line probably already know, and those who know a little about me can probably guess.  I am neither a registered Republican or a registered Democrat. In fact, I have never voted in a Republican or Democratic primary till this year, and I have voted in every election since 1992.

I am also not going to use this blog for that purpose… it is not what I keep it for. 

But since I am up late, and can not sleep because I took too long a nap this afternoon, I will share a few reflections on the current election.

If John McCain is the presumptive Republican nominee, and either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama is the presumptive Democratic nominee, then we are guaranteed that, for the first time since John F. Kennedy, a serving Senator will be elected President. In recent years, it has either been a Governor or a Vice President that has been elected. Several had been a Senator at some point (Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson) but were not serving in the Senate at the time of their election.

The majority of those elected have been Governors, and this was seen as the most assured way to win… but for some reason this year is different.

Now, for two elections in a row, one of the party nominee’s will have been a Vietnam Veteran. To me, this signifies a generation change among our National Political Leadership… what is interesting though is that one of those was a Democrat and the other a Republican… and neither were Army or Marines. Do the American people have something against nominating us groundpounders?

The Democrats have a candidate who grew up considering herself a “Conservative”, and has been endorsed by Conservative pundit Ann Coulter over the Republican Candidate… Funny that. Sure, Coulter is making a point about how much she dislikes John McCain, not how much she likes Hillary Clinton… and there is such a thing as endorsements you don’t really want. “Brittany Spears is endorsing….” You get the point. Yes, I’m linking Coulter and Spears… couldn’t resist.

One of the Republican Candidates still in the race is a Baptist minister who has used the phrase “Theological War” to refer to the war in Iraq, (one short step away from using the word crusade) and amazingly was not (pardon the expression) crucified for it. May the media who let him get away with it be cast down into the fiery pits of the hell I no longer believe in.

Much has been made about Obama being the first African American Candidate, and Clinton being the first sumatriptan generic availability female candidate for President, and indeed both are historical. It is a shame on both of them that they continue to use race and gender to snipe at one another, instead of truly showing gravitas and rising to this historic moment. How incredible would it be if the Democratic “ticket” could have been an African American man and a white woman. I fear however there is too much animosity between them for that vision to become a reality. Too bad, because holding such a grudge to the detriment of both their party, their nation, and to the spirit of Liberalism to which my personal allegiance lies does not win either of them brownie points towards getting my vote.

They both need to step up to the moment and unite now, not six months from now or never.

I am afraid for our nation if John McCain wins the election, and I am afraid for our nation if John McCain loses the election. If he wins, I am afraid that he just does not have it within him to be the healing presence that our nation needs right now. I think he might make a decent Secretary of Defense… but not President, especially not with our nation in the pain it currently is in from so many different wounds. I am also afraid, deeply afraid, that to try to unite the Republican party John McCain will offer the Vice Presidency to Mike Huckabee… and the idea of him one heartbeat away from being President brings the sermons from the book of Revelations of my childhood faith back to mind…

I am also afraid for our nation if John McCain is the Republican nominee and then loses the election… because that will be the end of any future moderation in the Republican party. Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter and the Neo-cons and the Evangelicals will scream loudly that the moderates are the death of the Republican party, and will take over. In a two party system, we only have two choices… and I am happy with them both being moderates. One being a moderate and the other being a wacko right wing nutcase is a 50% chance we will elect a wacko right wing nutcase… and I don’t think that as a Nation we will survive that. Not again.

But, in the end… my dream is coming true. There is a candidate who is running on vision, on character, on hope, and on a message of uniting, not dividing people. I did not think I would live to see such a campaign, and it may not succeed… but thank God is it good to see. Makes me proud to be an American… and a liberal.

Yours in Faith,

David