The Candidate We Deserved
Joshua Michael Marshall found some polls that led him to wonder whether Kerry could win a “do over” election held today. I saw an opportunity to continue expressing my distaste for the direction that the Democratic Party has taken since Bill Clinton handed the baton to Al Gore.
Can we do over the primaries while we’re at it?
I spent time volunteering for the Kerry campaign, but I never for a moment believed that he would be a good President. When a Republican friend commented that she believed that Kerry would be a disaster, I could reply only that it was possible to be both a disaster and an improvement.
Kerry did not deserve to win that election. He ran a campaign premised entirely upon the idea that Bush deserved to lose. An additional eight months worth of data might have convinced a few more voters that he was right--but he still wouldn’t have deserved to win and he still wouldn’t make an effective President.
The Democratic Party went into the primary season with one goal in mind: Don’t offend anyone who already dislikes Bush. We got the milquetoast candidate we deserved--a Senator with a long and undistinguished career. Until we’re prepared to do better, we don’t deserve a do over.
I volunteered for the Kerry campaign, even though I wasn’t certain that I was working for the right guy. Were a do-over held tomorrow, I still wouldn’t be sure.
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