Why all the panic? [View All]

[PurityOfEssence]

Junior is weak, and those who've lost their affection aren't coming back. Unless there's a real upsurge in the economy (and by this, I mean JOBS) already underway, he's in real trouble. The war trick and the we-wuz-attacked gags have played out; these cute little tricks can't be sustained. The traditional fecklessness and short attention-spans of Americans make us unlikely to remain terrorized for another 13 1/2 months.

Here we are, more than three months from the real shootin' war of the primary voting starts, and people are scrambling out of fear. We actually have a decent opportunity to calmly assess the situation and subject the ten to serious scrutiny and debate. Instead, many are still cringing with skittish fearful need to latch onto the one with "the best chance to beat" Junior. HE'S NOT THAT POWERFUL; we can be pickier and should be.

There's also a nauseating sports team attitude to much of the support, as if one's very worth as a human being was at stake. This clouds reason and has people dismiss bad facts about their choice out of a blind faith and need to be proven right.

It cuts both ways, though, because we do need to be mindful of the general election, but I contend we're short-changing ourselves by concentrating on this. (I'll note that the essence of my post works both against and for my favorite, Edwards: he's got the best chance in the general, so I'm shooting down that argument, but he represents what is a true representation of our party--he's more liberal than any of the current big three--and wears very well when he gets some exposure, so the "cool off and look" aspect of my agrument helps him.)

We needn't stampede ourselves right now; we could make a bad decision.

Now, to further burst some bubbles: nobody's dropping out anytime soon, so trying to steamroller the opposition isn't going to work. They're just getting into the groove of things here; the next few encounters and weeks will show their mettle. That's important, because, as Junior's finding out: you can't hide in the Presidency.

So go ahead and slag each other's candidates and be as shrill as you must, but there's absolutely no need to panic or make a decision all that soon. It would be sad to miss an opportunity for a historic sea-change out of unfounded fear.