How G.W. Bush has change our very mentality towards politics.
So, I have been wanting to write this for sometime now, and I finally got the time. First off, just a quick fore thought: WAKE THE HELL UP!
The left (the side I proudly identify with) is being manipulated. How you might ask? Another conspiracy theory about Tower 7? No. The left is being played by the inside game. The game that Bush and his administration are playing without fail. Here is how it works. The current administration has been so terrible at governing and showing any sort of decency towards logic and the law of the land. This gross misconduct has, through the help of the media and others, becoming conventional politics and wisdom. I know I know...who the hell thinks Bush is doing things right (maybe Fox News)? However, the proof is there. No matter how much the media says what Bush is doing is wrong they can't help but put a happy shine on it. When this is done some on the left allow the conventional wisdom to seep in. They start to believe that all politicians are like Bush and his goon squad. They start to believe that every move is a negative one. That all compromises are back door dealings with corporations. That any change in the initial rhetoric is a change in direction for the worst. If you are still no convinced allow me to hand out a nice fat, juicy example. A few weeks ago Obama was being lambasted by many here and elsewhere for moving to the center to score votes. This was especially tied to his stance on Iraq. I read many diaries and comments saying that he was going to change his stance and people should be ready for it. Other gems such as "Obama has proved himself to be just another politician." While I saw this going on, I wondered to myself whether or not people really understood how the landscape has changed. The plates are shifting under your feet, people. The game ball is moving down the field. The winning of this election isn't just about changing what party runs the executive and legislative branch. It's about changing the "conventional wisdom." While the Right will be unable to stop the flow of Democrats into office this upcoming elections, they will still own the conversation. Bush was able to get Americans to think that having a smart guy as president is bad. That having a guy who grew up with modest beginnings is not American. That being non-white is foreign or exotic. That spying on your fellow Americans is necessary.
I watch as Daily Kos practically eats itself with news of Obama's camp dismissing Clark from the convention. Before everyone goes fully off the cliff, ask yourself one thing. Do you really believe that Obama and his people would basically spit in the face of a man so revered in the Democratic party? Now he may not pick him as VP, even though I think he should, but I don't believe he would just be so rude to Clark. That is something Bush would do, not Obama. See what I mean? The anger that people have with Bush is starting to seep into their views of Obama. Be careful of this. It is a road that I am sure will end in disaster.
Lastly, a Barack Obama presidency, 60 vote majority, and no more right wing judges on the supreme court won't do much for this country if the Republicans still hold the conversation. "Change we can believe in" is a great slogan. We should also adopted "Change the conversation."