The better man lost tonight.
This year, the American people had a clear choice between a genuine hero, a man who has literally given his entire life for his country, but they went for a charming, inexperienced upstart with a resume thinner than tissue and a line of bullshit three meters thick.
We, like Senator McCain, congratulate Senator Obama on his victory and wish him well. This is a historic moment for our country, but one that is difficult for so many of us who admire John McCain for the many qualities he has always exhibited, but his opponent has so far only talked about.
To Senator John McCain, we say, "THANK YOU." Thank you for your service, for your integrity, for your commitment to making our country a better, safer, more prosperous place for all of us to realize our own versions of the American Dream. You noted during one of the debates that "I want to inspire a generation of Americans to serve a cause greater than their self-interest." and that you'd "rather lose a campaign than lose a war." In both respects, Sir, you have accomplished your goals, and hopefully the personal feelings you feel at the loss of this campaign is cushioned by these facts.
So now John McCain heads back to the Senate and assumes the role of what the British like to call the "loyal opposition." But first, Senator, take some time. Go home to Arizona, barbeque some ribs, reconnect with your family, and get some rest. You've earned it. You have two years left in your current term and we sincerely hope you stick around for at least one more term in the Senate. Support Mr. Obama when he's right, oppose him when he's wrong, and don't ever let go of the principles that made you the man whom we so deeply admire.
Like you said:
"...there are still things worth fighting for here, and I think I'm as ready for them as I've ever been. I won't win them all. I won't win most of them. But I'll win a few. And as long as my conceit doesn't convince me of my indispensability to America instead of my country's indispensabilityGo get 'em, Senator. We're right behind you.
to me, we should both do all right."
16 comments:
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AFB:
Excellent post. You summed up my feelings to a T. I am sad for our country, and I surely hope that all of those who voted for a nanny state instead of the United States don't get a dime of my "wealth". I guess I should break the bad news to the cats that they won't get as many treats and toys as they do, since my taxes will go up too high for frivolous things....*sigh*
I have been updating my blog, and noticed two people have posted there previously, from these sites I thank you all for your support, and I hope to respond soon.
There are two parties in the United States of America, and this is a very fragile balance of power. This has been coming for a very long time, as the two parties have refused to share power.
The Democrats will mess up these next two years, but lucky for them that someone to blame will come along in two years as the Republicans did what they did in 1994. Fear not, Democrats, your scapegoat is coming in 2010!
JOHN MCCAIN will always be a hero!
JOHN MCCAIN has never disparaged his own country. JOHN MCCAIN encourages others by his steadfast actions, not empty words. JOHN and CINDY inspire by sharing their stories of selflessness and humility, not by professing perfection.
The nation has spoken. The nation has lost.
The burden of producing is now squarely on the shoulders of an infant (with enormously questionable judgment).
Which makes it all the more foolish to put much faith in man.
I, like John McCain, will continue to guide my path with a Light much brighter than any stadium or stage.
Word.
Hello, Teeroonie. Welcome to the site.
Senator McCain has done much better than any other Republican could have. All these talks about McCain could have done this and that are wishful thinkings. Had he done what some conservative pundits asked for, the end result will be no different - if not worse.
As Byron York wrote on NRO:
Could any candidate have been elected to succeed a president of his own party whose job approval rating was 25 percent? Probably not. Could any candidate have been elected to continue his party’s stay in the White House when roughly 90 percent of Americans believed the country was on the wrong track? Probably not. Could any candidate from the governing party have been elected after the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 4,000 points before one could even turn around? Probably not.
triad sense 1,
Yes, Okami is one of the best games on PS2. I got it when it first came out. Shadow of Colossus is cool too. Okami is visually attractive and it has very nice music. There are 3 different wind techniques. The bigger the picture you draw the stronger the wind, so make sure your drawing is big enough. Also you only want to blow part of a bridge not the entire bridge.
I disagree with Rush, but that is just me.
Earl this was very nicely stated. In all honesty, I probably feel closer to Travis' e-mail response to the election the other night,but I will mellow to this in time. CK hit the nail on the head in an earlier comment. John McCain was atop the party that could not win - period. I think that one day history will vindicate the Bush administration but for now he is the scapegoat along with all Republicans. In the mean time, Senator McCain you did a great job and it was my sincere pleasure to contribute and volunteer for you. You are an honest, trustworthy and loyal American and my hero sir. Thank you for your campaign and for your service to this great nation. In my best "humor Latin", Even though obesa cantavit, Illegitimati non carborundum.
JohnnyFive!
Illegitimi Non Carborundum! "Don't Let the Bastards Get You Down!" A true rallying cry for all of us who take up the impossible battle, because we KNOW that fighting impossible odds, in the belief that what we know is right, brings out the best in human nature!
I'll counter with this quote, it hung on the wall when I was at Officer Training School some number of years back, and it always picks me up:
"It is not the critic who counts: nor the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."
Theo. Roosevelt
Chemical Kinetics, thanks for the Okami tips. The reason I'm playing that game after beating it is that the game is never the game twice. Sort of like politics.
Johnny Five, you are right. The media is already scurrying over on top of themselves to get a piece of Mc Cain to kiss up to. Palin has a political future, however, so she is being slammed. Though she was not my first choice as veep, she was an intelligent woman.
Remember, Pelisi and Shumer are up for re-election in 2010, and Barak Obama as President cannot shield them from a defeat anymore than Bush could shield the GOP reps. from a defeat in 2006.
I was updating my blog--one of them anyway--and I thought the post would be useful to all of those who gave their support to the right man for the Presidency, who lost to a man who made many promises (gun control AND second amendment rights, tax cuts AND tax hikes, etc. ) to many opposing groups, depending on timing.
Friday, November 7, 2008
The Bright Faction of the Moon.
One month ago I saw a half moon, one side bright, one side dark, and I was thinking of the state of the world. A single star shone above the moon, so I made a mental image of the unusually beautiful yellow half moon in the sky. It looked like a bowl. Then I saw the state of the moon, in the crisp, clear fall air, throughout the month, alter and change so that the bright side grew more and more faint, until only a tiny slither remained of light. It was a perfect metaphor of the power of light over darkness, even though the darkness was in the majority, both in the moon and the almost starless sky. The light still matters, no matter how small it is.
I am hearing and reading more from people that this world is descending into darkness. Not physical darkness from fuel shortages, but spiritual or "moral" darkness. Our entertainment is growing darker, the sermons from the pulpit are growing darker and the order that "Western Civilization" has given the world is beginning to erode.
In my lifetime, the great voices and beacons that have guided the world have reached the end of their life spans. On June 14, 2007, we lost Ruth Bell Graham, the wife of Rev. Billy Graham. On September 5, 1997, Mother Teresa, that prime example, role model and illustration of modern Christianity, went on home to be with the Lord. Just days before, we were shocked by the untimely demise of Diana, the Princess of Wales, on August 31, 1997, who was not only a symbol of beauty, but a symbol of the best of humanity and charity, back when mankind believed it’s good works made a difference.
I could not name all the people that left the world, though a little brighter than when they started their work, without a clear successor of the torches they passed on.
Now we look towards a less trusting generation, who grew up watching their parents split up, their leaders mislead, and their celebrities do immoral things. My generation, which watches separate news channels, reads books from separate book stores, and listens to separate categories of music, will have fewer beacons of morality to lead us. Our light is shrinking and our darkness is growing.
Yet light still has its potency. I saw that same half moon as I did last month, shining in the chilly night, with a ring of light around both the light and the dark halves of the moon. It seemed odd to me that the light could make a perfect circle around half a circle of light, sharing its place with darkness.
Give me a post if you’ve seen the same moon as well.
AF BLue:
I forwarded your post to many; my husband read it aloud to dispirited co-workers to console them that gloomy Wednesday morning. Thank you.
To my surprise, my tears started flowing during John McCain’s concession speech on election night, as I realized the emotional attachment I unknowingly had for the man and his record. Time will tell if Obama’s contributions to this country will match McCain’s, but for now, all I see is a man who has devoted his life to serving this country, and serving it well---a man of flesh and blood and “authenticity”---defeated by a life-sized cardboard cut-out symbol.
All I ask of my Democratic friends is that they admit their support of a symbol, or defend Obama’s record, character and positions on issues as reasonable support for expectations of good governance. So far, in this long campaign, no one has offered either.
I saw an Italian headline—“Today, the world changed”. Yes, I know Obama will soon begin to “cool the earth, and heal the sick”, but here’s what hasn’t changed—human nature. The last big change in the world, in my opinion, was on September 17, 1787—when the members of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, PA adopted the US Constitution---a document that I believe, as do many others, changed the course of human history in a far more dramatic way than any single person has, save Moses, Jesus, Buddha or Mohammed. The authors of the Constitution were geniuses (or well-versed in British politics) when they crafted a document that addressed both the strengths and weaknesses of the human character, and yet Obama, in his wisdom, thinks the Constitution has “a blind spot” because it doesn’t address income equality. Karl Marx’s document, The Communist Manifesto, had no such “shortcoming”---which document has proved more enduring?
In eighth grade I was the sole voice in my Social Studies classroom in Maryland arguing for the passage of the Civil Rights Act, defending my ideas against classmates who slyly snickered the “N” word---only to be corrected by the teacher that the proper word was “colored”. (My Republican parents taught me that the proper term was Negro, and supported the NAACP with their pocketbooks, and passage of the Act in their dinner table conversations.) In class, I repeated what I had heard at home---that people, as MLK said, should be judged on the basis of their character, their behavior, and their intellect, not on the color of their skin. I’m still arguing that philosophy today, but I’m betting most of my old Maryland classmates voted for Obama, and did so based on the color of his skin, not on the content of his character. Maybe they’ve expunged their guilt---I don’t have any, sorry.
If Obama had defeated anyone other than McCain, this would not be nearly as painful. I might worry just as much about our country becoming more European, but it would be from a more emotionally detached perspective.
Piaagano,
That is without a doubt the nicest thing anyone has ever said about any of my articles. There was a certain amount of therapy in it for me, and I hope it helped those you sent it to as well.
The good news is WE STILL HAVE JOHN MCCAIN. He won't going gentle into that good night for quite a while, God willing, so the good fight will continue.
Cheers,
AFBlue
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