Joking aside...
Don't say that! That was as serious and as enlightening as anything else I've read about the 2008 elections (actually, more so, and on both counts).
I've always been intrigued by the demonizing and de-demonizing process that takes place with our country's real and putative enemies, such as Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, Ahmadinejad, and Kim Jong-Il. The demonizing is essential because the populace must be roused to action; but the de-demonizing (usually in the form of cartoonizing) also is essential because the populace must be convinced that it can win. But the process must be finely calibrated or else the populace gets confused and doubts set in.
Right, because the real monster cannot be defeated..
That's a really interesting post.
I think a lot of those observations might apply even more strongly to the general election, though. I'm not convinced that this primary is more polarizing than others. It seems that way, sometimes, because it's gone on longer and so partisans of both candidates have resorted to more-extreme language than they'd have been able to muster if the whole thing had been over in February. I remain hopeful, though, that by the time the convention rolls around most Democrats will be on the same page.
Let's hope so.
I think I swore not to vote for John Kerry after Howard Dean lost and come November I was knocking on doors and making phone calls for JK. So let's hope this crap dies down, eh?
I'm sure it will. Remember, most of the sound and fury over this is coming from the internet, which is a small group anyway, and the people swearing to vote for McCain over Obama are a minority in that already small group.
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