Sine Qua Non

The Most Important Election In Our Lifetime

Joe Biden is wrong (I know, I know, that is a tautology) because this ain't it.

The most important election in my lifetime is a tossup between 1980 and 2004, with 2000 following close behind. The election in 1980 removed Jimmy Carter from office and installed Ronald Reagan. Real tough to argue with that as the most important result in my lifetime except to note that had John Kerry been elected in 2004, there would have been ignominious surrender in Iraq, no surge, and goodness knows what after that. The election in 2000 only become a candidate for most important on 9/11. Before that it was just another ho hum election with little truly at stake beyond the nomination of Supreme Court justices. I actually doubt whether Al Gore would have wanted to spend as much as George Bush, though I have no doubt that Al would have immediately demanded a resolution be put before the UN Security Council on 9/12 to fight the terribly-misundertood-doers.

But here, in less than a month we get to choose between two men who could get into an argument about which one loathes Republicans more. In less than a month we get to choose betwene a man who wants a massive expansion of the government and a man who thinks a massive expansion of the government might not go far enough. In less than a month we get to choose between four more years of George Bush and four more years of Jimmy Carter. In less than a month we get to choose between a man who won't enforce the borders and a man who just doesn't recognize borders at all.

There are a few differences between the two candidates. One of them wants to fight and one can't wait to surrender in Iraq. Nominees to the Supreme Court might be substantially preferable under one of them, but honestly who knows after David Souter, though it is difficult to imagine a Democratic nominee unexpectedly turning out to be a strict constructionist after he/she is sworn in. And finally, one of them thinks Joe Biden is right when Joe imagines he's looking at presidential timber in the mirror each morning.

This post is just too depressing to continue.