It took a bellicose buffoon in a cowboy hat to make me see the error of my ways.
As of Sunday morning, I had made up my mind to sit out the election, mostly as a form of progressive, professional left protest over the cavalier treatment we have endured at the hands of Robert Gibbs and his boss. Having banged on doors and phoned people on behalf of Mr. Obama in 2008, I'll admit that I'm less than thrilled by the results to date.
Last night, as I wandered around the dial, looking for a time killer before the premiere of Boardwalk Empire (which, by the way, is very well done), I stumbled across a panel discussion on the Tea Party on C-Span 2. Figuring that this might be a means to effectively kill a half hour or so, I watched a Harvard history professor, a NY Times reporter, Tucker Carlson (what, Michelle Malkin wasn't available?) and Dick Armey discuss the genesis and future of the Tea Party.
While Carlson was his usual annoying self, at least he maintained a degree of decorum - which is far more than can be said for the aptly named Dick Armey. This Texas tornado of a windbag continually interrupted other panelists, interjecting his wisdom as if somehow only Dick Armey truly understood the nature of the Tea Party. Insufferable would be an overly generous description of this loudmouthed oaf.
It was then and there that I realized that while President Obama has disappointed me on any number of fronts, he and his party are far preferable to a return to power of the intellectual ciphers that created the mess in which we find ourselves mired. Mocking educated people and trotting out Know Nothingism buzzwords will not provide a solution to our problems. I remain unconvinced that the Administration is on the right track; in fact, as to Afghanistan, I am thoroughly convinced that they are on the wrong track. Nevertheless, I will trudge to the polls in November, casting a Pennsylvania senatorial vote for Joe Sestak. My disappointment in President Obama will be at least partially offset by wiping the grin off of the bloated countenance of the Texas gasbag.