As a decades long fan of politics, I can't help but watch the interesting turn of events that is our electoral process. Unlike some, I am not entirely lost in cynicism when it comes to our government. I'm no wide eyed dreamer either. I know politics is a practical profession, and expect no more or less than it usually delivers. I am happy to live in a country that does not need bloodshed and riots and assassinations and carnage to overthrow the powers that be. Where the greatest inconvenience is road construction or a miscommunication over polling locations, things could be worse. A heck of a lot worse.
So it's with some pride of being an American in a country, though flawed, that still has hope for living up to its higher ideals, that I will watch and see what happens. One of the difficulties will be sifting through the source of partisanship that has hamstrung so much of our public life: the media. Whether FOX News, or any other publication, advocacy is more and more the special of the day. In this particular piece, we have a story trying desperately to say that the big loser was, in fact, Boehner and the Republicans. There is some truth to that. But it won't be like 1994, when Bill Clinton, with the help of the MSM, was able to cast himself as the knight in white armor saving America from Prince Gingrich, and his evil congress. Since the Democrats still hold the Senate, be it ever so marginally, President Obama will not be able to establish a narrative of 'me vs. congress.' To do so, he would have to break down and parse the numbers to exclude the Democrats. Once you begin to do that, to deconstruct the story and have to comment on the individual parts, it becomes very difficult to establish that crucial narrative - no matter how much help he will get from the media.
So we'll have to see. Right now pundits on the Left will be trying to spin it the best way they know how, and pundits on the Right will be trying to make sure expectations are for their designs, putting as many protective barriers around the Republicans in the House as possible. Next stop will be President Obama's reaction.
The real losers are the American people. The conservatives, especially the tea party nuts, will just come in and stop anything from happening. Maybe if they cared about the American people, instead of shoving their agendas in our face, we might get some help. But knowing what they have done in the past, I doubt it.
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