Meaninglessness

I am not even certain there is such a word as meaninglessness but it will do for the moment. Yes, I am thinking of last night’s debate that, it is widely agreed, was lost by President Obama to a new and aggressive Willard M. Romney. There seems to be general agreement that Romney “won.” I am not certain what that means. What exactly did he “win?” He did not win a trophy, nor did he win a cash prize, and I do not believe he won the election. Perhaps he won a few votes. That is possible. But then perhaps he lost a few votes also. So what does it mean to say he won? In fact I don’t believe it even matters who won or lost the debate last night as It is all part of the meaninglessness of the ongoing Soap Opera designated as the campaign for the Presidency of the widely touted most powerful nation on earth now repeatedly defeated by a bunch of local citizens armed with a few small arms. Being a loyal American now for more than 80 years I do not like to admit it, but I think it is true, the “American Century” is coming to a close. Central and South America, as well as the Middle East, are making it pretty clear they are no longer going to put up with America’s meddling and trying to control their countries, and as we will quite likely be bankrupt soon we will no doubt be unable to continue to dominate the world. Osama bin Laden will have won, just as they won over the Russians. Failing a “war” on Iran that we cannot afford and will surely lose it seems clear that American hegemony is everywhere slipping away. Of course we could go on following the advice of John McCain and the other warmongers “dying with our boots on,” but that would seem even too foolish even for us. I guess if Romney should somehow manage to win the election that may well be our fate.

What was wrong with President Obama last night? Why did he let Romney ride roughshod over the truth without much in the way of defense? I have no idea. Maybe he was struck by the absurdity of it all and was preoccupied with the demands of office, realizing that Romney has little or no idea of what the Presidency is all about, maybe he was tired, maybe he realized that arguing with apparently schizophrenic politicians is a hopeless cause. I don’t believe the real Mitt Romney will ever stand up because I don’t believe there even is a real Mitt Romney. And even assuming there might be I don’t think I would like to know him.

If there was ever any doubt that John Sununu was a racist scumbag (I doubt there was for many of us) he made it clear that he was with his recent claims that President Obama is lazy and disengaged and does not want to work. These insulting and degrading remarks, along with others he has made in the past, make it quite clear he is an out-and-out racist and as such is a perfect spokesman for the current Republican Party. I wonder how he managed to omit “shiftless” from his description of the “Darky” who is presently illegally and unfortunately occupying the White House and “doesn’t even understand his own policies.” Some may want us to believe that Sununu is just the “cranky old uncle in the family” but I think he is in fact the spokesman for the Party itself. Now that the election is drawing near and Obama seems to be leading in the polls the desperation of the Republicans is leading them to throw all caution to the winds and express their racist beliefs much more openly. There is not the slightest doubt in my mind that their disrespectful treatment of Obama, and even the office of the President itself, has to do with the fact that our President is Black. Our previous President, George W. Bush, even though most probably borderline retarded, was not treated with such disrespect, nor was the office of the Presidency. As much as they try they have been unable to goad Obama into their image of an angry Black man, thus becoming more frustrated and angry themselves.

I am not at all certain that Obama isn’t just playing “rope a dope,” allowing Romney the freedom to continue his unabashed lying that will inevitably be exposed by the fact checkers, much to the ultimate dismay of independent voters. I could be wrong, of course, as I often am. But the media has certainly been treating this debate as a contest between “Muhammad Obama” and the” Great White Dope,” as if it represents the battle of the century rather than an ordinary debate between two Presidential hopefuls. Even if most of the pundits seem to agree that Obama “lost” the contest last night it is not really the end of the election, and certainly not the end of the world.

The hardest thing about any political campaign is how to win without proving that you are unworthy of winning.

Adlai E. Stevenson Jr.