Is it already over for Obama, II?

From today’s New York Times, a story that adds ammo to my skepticism that Obama can win. The headline: "Obama’s Test: Can a Liberal be a Unifier." Imagine a similar question about McCain: Can a conservative be a unifier? The historical record says no, but set that aside for a moment. The supposedly liberal media continue not only to give McCain a free ride, but to buy into the destructive narrative about "liberals" and "conservatives."

The Times writes:

To achieve the change the country wants, he (Obama) says, “we need a leader
who can finally move beyond the divisive politics of Washington and
bring Democrats, independents and Republicans together to get things
done.”

But this promise leads, inevitably, to a question: Can
such a majority be built and led by Mr. Obama, whose voting record was,
by one ranking, the most liberal in the Senate last year?

Also,
and more immediately, if Mr. Obama wins the Democratic nomination, how
will his promise of a new and less polarized type of politics fare
against the Republican attacks that since the 1980s have portrayed
Democrats as far out of step with the country’s values?

So are we to believe that breaking the military in endless wars of choice, installing a theocracy of ‘family values’ intolerance, ignoring global warming, wrecking the constitutional separation of powers and whittling away the middle class in favor of a corporate elite are "in step with the country’s values"? God help us if they are.

Maybe the American people are too stupid, too pixilated by television, too wrapped up in fears and prejudices made worse by poor education ("history is boring"). Maybe they’ll fall for it all over again with "Maverick." I fear they will.

Let’s see what "conservative" goverance has gotten us: bigger, more intrusive government, armed foreign adventures, vast and growing foreign debt, centralization of power in both the public and private sector, and the deadly incompetence that comes from venality, crony capitalism and ideology. All these are at odds with real conservatism. From our once-lovely old cities to our industrial base to our infrastructure to our national forests, not one thing has been conserved. Conservatives were once mistrustful of any rigid ideology. Now they are as lockstep and predictable as any Marxist.

But they play on fear, prejudice and greed. Americans want order and profit. They easily fall for the line that everything bad is because of taxes. That everyone unlike "us" is a danger. That the facts have a liberal bias. Thus, the right gets a pass on defending its record of governance. It helps that consolidation in the media and the death of real newspaper journalism gives the right a pass. Yet most of the malpractice has been reported widely. People don’t pay attention — or at least enough for an electoral majority, especially when close elections can be rigged.

That liberal would be a dirty word is a perverse tragedy, for America is a liberal nation in its inception. John F. Kennedy put it best:

What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label
"Liberal?" If by "Liberal" they mean, as they want people
to believe, someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local
government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer’s dollar, then the record
of this party and its members demonstrate that we are not that kind of
"Liberal." But if by a "Liberal" they mean someone who
looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid
reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health,
their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil
liberties — someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and
suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a
"Liberal," then I’m proud to say I’m a "Liberal."

"Conservatism" has failed with tragic and costly results. But so has the false narrative about the battle between "conservatives" and "liberals." No rigid ideology will help this country address its problems and reclaim its greatness, and this is what Obama has been saying.

But if only the young and educated grasp that, we will see an election in 2008 that is far closer than it should be given the Republican disasters upon us. It will be close enough for the disciples of Rove to perform their fraudulent magic. Given the media romance with John McCain, it may not even be necessary to steal the election.