There’s a lot to do for politically-engaged conservatives. There are so many people to blame for what they fear will be a horrible Election Day. There are just as many people (with a tiny following and no political experience) to tell everyone what to do about conservatism. But really, won’t there be plenty of time–weeks and months, if not years–for all that?
There is a presidential election in eight days. I can read the polls as well as anyone. But let’s remember that no one has a clue who is going to turn out on election day. If one group of polls is correct, there is a small single digit lead for Barack Obama. And there is an exceedingly important debate going on — finally — as to whether it is such a wise idea to embark on the greatest tax-and-spend plan since . . . well, forever. And some people find it worth pondering why so many national security gurus keep hoping that Obama doesn’t really intend to do much of anything that he promised. (In the oddest election in my lifetime, Joe Biden may have become the wisest prognosticator yet, warning us of international danger and inevitable disappointment with an Obama administration.)
It is not often that you find the entire country talking about what it means to be a socialist, whether talk can melt the hearts of dictators, and if undivided government really is such a great idea. In other words, it is a good idea to spend one more week on the most important decision American voters may make in a generation.
Moreover, how divided the government actually will be depends on the fate of a handful of Senators and a batch of House seats. There is a heck of a difference between 55 and 60 Democrats in the Senate. Mitch McConnell is a political genius, but there’s nothing he (or if he should lose, his successor) is going to do without 41 Republicans (and a couple to spare to cover for those compelled to masquerade as Democrats) to slow down the Obama juggernaut. And in the House, a 50 seat pick-up means not only more extreme legislation, but a deeper hole for Republicans to climb out of and more election cycles in the minority.
There is a reason, of course, other than giddy excitement, why the MSM would rather skip past this election to the “How will he govern?” and “Is conservatism dead?” stories. The more the public thinks about the great issues of the day, the more they might rethink turning over both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue to the Democrats. After all, majorities of voters don’t like redistributionist economic policies, don’t think we should get rid of secret ballot union elections, don’t like the idea of unilateral disarmament, and don’t think judges should “make stuff up.”
All of that explains why the MSM would rather start pondering their next trick: how to convince everyone they behaved fairly and responsibly over the last two years. That will be something to see. But in the meantime, there’s an awful lot else going on.
