Chris Buckley did my high school commencement speech. It was amazing. This is fantastic. He will always be in my cool book.

I tried and failed to get this greenlit previously; here's hoping whoever Subby is, that it does go this time. I think everyone should read it.

+1

As for Kathleen, she has to date received 12,000 (quite literally) foam-at-the-mouth hate-emails. One correspondent, if that's quite the right word, suggested that Kathleen's mother should have aborted her and tossed the fetus into a Dumpster.

Well that's one view to take on the issue...

...odd.

Because that's honestly about the best assessment of what I've felt about this election. My initial respect for McCain has lead to immense disappointment. And my somewhat tentative but ultimate hope in Obama. And all the stuff in between. Good article.

ninjakirby: As for Kathleen, she has to date received 12,000 (quite literally) foam-at-the-mouth hate-emails. One correspondent, if that's quite the right word, suggested that Kathleen's mother should have aborted her and tossed the fetus into a Dumpster.

She basically wrote that she was amazed and now sees what the Left has had to deal with for the past 8 years. She's walked a mile in our shoes.

I saw him do an interview on Bloomberg last week, funny and insightful man. Dad would be proud.

You can listen here. (new window)

Third one down.

great piece. well done. and written by a true conservative (balanced budgets, small govt., libertarian on abortion, etc.).

darkhorse23: She basically wrote that she was amazed and now sees what the Left has had to deal with for the past 8 years. She's walked a mile in our shoes.

Well to be fair, if I were some prominent lefty and then came out in support of drilling in Yosemite, I'd probably get a bunch of crazy froth at the mouth insanity emails as well.

Wow.

Thats all I can say. Wow.

+1 and hope this gets greenlit, subby.

That was a beautiful summation of it all.

Awesome, plus uno.

I wish there was an option to vote for the John McCain from 1999-2000. I would've liked to have seen that man be President. I think he would've done a great job.

I probably would've voted for him ahead of the Barack Obama of 2008 and I don't think the decision would've even been that hard.

But, sadly, that man is not the person running for President.

I don't really like Obama's tax plans (I don't like the GOP's tax plan either). I think there is a long way to go before his healthcare plan is reasonable. There are some good ideas, but there are also some pretty bad ideas.

Yet, when I look at the two candidates. It just seems like such a silly decision. The McCain that I would've voted for several years ago is not on the ballot. The McCain on the ballot is beholden to lobbyists, clinging to ideas that have long since proved ridiculous, apt to make bad gut decisions filled with anger and lacking in judgment, filled with Rovian judgment that gives me no hope for a better tomorrow.

Obama is not perfect. He won't be handing out ponies and puppies under a golden rainbow next February. Our country has a ton of problems and they won't be fixed anytime soon.

But...and here's the thing...

I'm willing to take the chance that Obama just might be a little bit better than our choices from recent years. With McCain, there is absolutely no question that he will be exactly like every other President from recent memory; zip zero zilch nada chance that he might be different or better. At the very absolute worst, Obama is more of the same. However, at some point just above absolute worst, Obama can provide at least a little hope for a country that might work together and fix the problems. So, even if I'm completely wrong, I'm left in the exact same position if I had voted for McCain. But, maybe...just maybe, I can tell my kids that I tried to leave America better off.

I don't think Obama is perfect. There are many things I don't agree on.

Yet, I'm willing to hope for something better. And, for the life of me, I can't believe there are people in this country that admonish others for hoping for a better tomorrow. It amazes me every day when that thought is denounced and laughed at. As a country, when did we start mocking people that hoped for a better life or a brighter tomorrow or any miniscule thought of happiness that might just be around the corner?

I'm sorry, but I refuse to accept the idea that the United States of America can't be better than it was yesterday.

That's why I'm going to vote for Obama.

Too bold,dammit. Sorry.

bulldg4life: I wish there was an option to vote for the John McCain from 1999-2000. I would've liked to have seen that man be President. I think he would've done a great job.

i used to think that too. now I think mccain 2008 is just like mccain 2000. he just wasn't desperate in 2000.

You know, I love this kind of writing. Not necessarily because it agrees with me, but because it's rational.

He doesn't see things the way that I do, but at least he's living on the same planet that I'm living on. It's easy for me to forget sometimes that there are well spoken and intelligent conservatives because of all the noise that the irrational numbskulls make.

Yarg. I can only hope that there are a few liberals that appear this way to people like Buckley.

SphericalTime: sometimes that there are well spoken and intelligent conservatives because of all the noise that the irrational numbskulls make.

There is one single thing I am hoping beyond hope for with this election...

That the GOP gets stomped on so big that those well-spoken intelligent conservatives realize that they don't have to let the irrational numbskulls dictate GOP policy.

A GOP gut-punch would give fiscal conservatives a great opportunity to retake their party or push the Libertarian message.

They might not be ready by 2010 or 2012, but 2014 could put the fiscal conservatives in the position of forcing the democrats to fix their shiat or be left in the dust for a decade.

bulldg4life: I'm sorry, but I refuse to accept the idea that the United States of America can't be better than it was yesterday.

Yes, this. I've had it with negativity. I've had it with bitterness. I lived and worked in a toxic environment for six years and finally got out a few months ago... I don't want my country to be that same morass of negativity. We as a country don't need that.

President Obama will (I pray, secularly) surely understand that traditional left-politics aren't going to get us out of this pit we've dug for ourselves.

So he's going to vote for a leftist socialist and then pray (secularly) that he won't turn out to be leftist socialist. That doesn't make much sense.

I enjoyed this...
As a leftist, even if I disagreed with William F. Buckley in his viewpoints, I respected his intelligence. He was able to form educated opinions that were well thought out.

What happened to the Right? They seem to have been progressively losing their intellectuals and are appealing straight to the barely-literate rednecks of the world. It's truly frightening.

The past eight years of Bush have been bad. But he had a lot of intelligent people surrounding him (albeit people of questionable morality). I'm not too threatened by McCain, but what if someone like Palin gets into the White House? Someone who is actively anti-intellectual, nationalist, and far Right.

Obama may be farther Left than what we're used to seeing in a President. He's certainly farther Left than Clinton and Carter (who were moderates at best), but I have little doubt that Obama will be a more moderate President and will try to work with both sides of the aisle.

I respect Christopher Buckley's assessment that Obama really is quite intelligent. I've read Obama's books for myself and thought they were very well-written. Especially his autobiography. I remain skeptical that Obama's going to bring the "change" he promises, but I'd at least like to give him a chance.

Plus, Palin and her supporters scare the crap out of me.

shivashakti: What happened to the Right? They seem to have been progressively losing their intellectuals and are appealing straight to the barely-literate rednecks of the world. It's truly frightening.

Decades of failing miserably, then continuing to push said failed policy have alienated anyone with more than an ounce of sense.

Plus, it takes some serious thoughtful policy discussion to win over one intellectual. Two 9/11s, an al-Qaeda, and a flag pin get you three pants-pissers easy.

Occam's Chainsaw: Decades of failing miserably, then continuing to push said failed policy have alienated anyone with more than an ounce of sense.

its not even that. its decades of saying one thing and doing the opposite.

log_jammin: its not even that. its decades of saying one thing and doing the opposite.

And a general disconnect from American society. And systemic corruption to the core. And an inability to alter viewpoints to address changing circumstances, proactively or reactively.

Face it, if we sat around naming problems with the modern GOP, we could be here all day.

Occam's Chainsaw: Face it, if we sat around naming problems with the modern GOP, we could be here all day.

i was trying to think of reasons why the modern GOP is like it is. what made them go from old guys smoking cigars while talking about economic theory to middle aged guys talking about Jesus and how many tanks we need to take out Paraguay.

Occam's Chainsaw: And a general disconnect from American society.

Considering the increase in popularity in fundamentalism, pro wrestling, and NASCAR in the past 15 years, this *IS* American society.

I think they're outbreeding us. Of course, in a democracy...the majority rules. Scary prospect for the future.

The intellectuals are the ones who are, perhaps, becoming disconnected from American society.

American politics is getting increasingly bizarre. Not to mention very polarized. I have a feeling that if Obama wins, it's going to get messy. The hatred coming from the wacky Palinites is frightening.

bulldg4life: SphericalTime: sometimes that there are well spoken and intelligent conservatives because of all the noise that the irrational numbskulls make.

There is one single thing I am hoping beyond hope for with this election...

That the GOP gets stomped on so big that those well-spoken intelligent conservatives realize that they don't have to let the irrational numbskulls dictate GOP policy.

A GOP gut-punch would give fiscal conservatives a great opportunity to retake their party or push the Libertarian message.

They might not be ready by 2010 or 2012, but 2014 could put the fiscal conservatives in the position of forcing the democrats to fix their shiat or be left in the dust for a decade.

This.

I think one of the better things that could come from Obama winning isn't something he would actually do as President... it would be his victory.

A Democrat winning despite Republican smears and the Evangelicals coming out in full-force.

I think this loss would help convince Republicans to stop pandering to the crazed, vocal minority* and encourage them to look to the other side, to open the doors and try to create a bigger tent for their party. I mean, seriously, if they pander to Moderates, Democrats and Independents instead of Evangelicals, what do they lose?

The Evangelicals will never vote Democrat in large blocs, so either they stay home and the Republican makes up for it with the others who are no longer driven away by the hateful rhetoric coming from the candidate, or they get those votes PLUS the Evangelicals throw a tantrum and end up voting Republican anyway.

I think a loss this year could signal a time for new Republicans to come to the forefront and take it back to its roots... or maybe take it in a new direction altogether.

I've read about conservatism, there's a lot of good stuff in there. I'm very liberal, but if faced with a Kerry Democrat and non-evangelical, non-warmongering Republican, I could imagine casting a vote in the R box.

Now, I didn't say McCain 2000 because even McCain in 2000 wasn't exactly representative of the real McCain. He's always been pro-life, he's always wanted to overturn Roe v. Wade, but in 2000 he was up against another pro-lifer and wanted to try something different. I've been so dismayed I haven't bothered to go way back to piece together the real McCain, because I'm sure it would be too depressing...

*Yes, they do make up a large voting bloc, however they are a minority in the population and so a platform pandering to them is, by definition, not representing the will of the majority of Americans.

This article sums up pretty well why I have been rooting for Obama since before he even announced. Obama strikes me as a man who, regardless of the circumstances, is not going to resort to trying to tear people down to try and build himself up. He genuinely believes what he says and tries his best to be as realistic as possible when presenting his ideas. In short, he is honest.

John McCain, on the other hand, does not strike me as an honest man. Instead of taking the opportunity to show the GOP that an honorable campaign that builds the people up, he choose to look Americans in the eye and try to tear them apart. He has shown willingness, no... an eagerness to embrace lies, misleading statements, and outright bullshiat to try and secure the highest office in our land. I've seen what comes from allowing that type of man to lead our nation. I've seen our country and others be ridden right into the ground by that sort of man. The sad part is that I don't even have to evoke his name and even the staunchest conservative could tell you exactly who I'm referring to and yet these same people are backing a man who is taking the same road to the White House. It makes no sense... unless of course that's their goal.

So Christopher Buckley is now voting for Obama and is publicly saying so. Good for him. My parents have defected from their previous position of supporting McCain to supporting Obama, but they do it in hushed whispers out of fear of retribution from their friends. My grandparents from Florida are supporting Obama as well, and they're somewhat racist. A friend's parents, who have consistently voted Republican year after year, are voting for Obama. My sister, who voted for Bush twice, is voting for Obama. My best friend, who has never voted before, is voting for Obama... and of list could almost literally go on forever.

Why? Why are all those people and other people like them voting for Obama? Honesty, integrity, and honor are the bedrock of the American dream. The American dream isn't a house, a car, a perfect set of kids, and loads of money. The American dream is to hold our heads high, not just thinking, but knowing that we are the very best that we can possibly be. We think we should conduct ourselves with honesty, integrity and honor in the face of our friends and our enemies. Let us not forget that the very best of our leaders have lead by example.

I think more and more people are coming to similar conclusions. Of course, the path they take to get there is unique to the individual, but a majority of people seem to be flowing in one particular direction and I am very happy to see that.

FTA-If he raises taxes and throws up tariff walls and opens the coffers of the DNC to bribe-money from the special interest groups against whom he has (somewhat disingenuously) railed during the campaign trail, then he will almost certainly reap a whirlwind that will make Katrina look like a balmy summer zephyr.

This will happen.

darkhorse23: I tried and failed to get this greenlit previously; here's hoping whoever Subby is, that it does go this time. I think everyone should read it.

+1

It was better yesterday when it was greenlit.

I like his books. They're funny. He's like Carl Hiaasen but writes about Washington politics instead of Florida politics.

I remember being really excited about John McCain in 2000. Of course, that we before Sheriff Chimpy McFlightsuit doubled our debt, took us on an unguided tour Iraqistananon, drowned minorities, tapped phone lies without warrants, alienated our allies...

I'm not voting McCain. :-)

Holy crap that was brillant.

Just linked to it on Facebook to my friends.

shivashakti:

What happened to the Right? They seem to have been progressively losing their intellectuals and are appealing straight to the barely-literate rednecks of the world. It's truly frightening.

Start with Nixon to understand what happened to the Republicans.

Also, you said that Obama is further left than Clinton and Carter. I think his personal ideology may be further left but I think temperamentally he's a moderate in that he doesn't favor conflict and prefers harmony. I really think that's one reason he hasn't hit back harder against McCain recently (in addition to not wanting to seem like an "angry, black man" and because you don't have to do much to further sink the McCain campaign). I just don't see him as a fighter. People forget about temperament and often focus on ideology, but that makes a big difference in how they will govern too.

...talks...fag...shiat...retarded

bulldg4life: I wish there was an option to vote for the John McCain from 1999-2000. I would've liked to have seen that man be President. I think he would've done a great job.

I probably would've voted for him ahead of the Barack Obama of 2008 and I don't think the decision would've even been that hard.

But, sadly, that man is not the person running for President.

I don't really like Obama's tax plans (I don't like the GOP's tax plan either). I think there is a long way to go before his healthcare plan is reasonable. There are some good ideas, but there are also some pretty bad ideas.

Yet, when I look at the two candidates. It just seems like such a silly decision. The McCain that I would've voted for several years ago is not on the ballot. The McCain on the ballot is beholden to lobbyists, clinging to ideas that have long since proved ridiculous, apt to make bad gut decisions filled with anger and lacking in judgment, filled with Rovian judgment that gives me no hope for a better tomorrow.

Obama is not perfect. He won't be handing out ponies and puppies under a golden rainbow next February. Our country has a ton of problems and they won't be fixed anytime soon.

But...and here's the thing...

I'm willing to take the chance that Obama just might be a little bit better than our choices from recent years. With McCain, there is absolutely no question that he will be exactly like every other President from recent memory; zip zero zilch nada chance that he might be different or better. At the very absolute worst, Obama is more of the same. However, at some point just above absolute worst, Obama can provide at least a little hope for a country that might work together and fix the problems. So, even if I'm completely wrong, I'm left in the exact same position if I had voted for McCain. But, maybe...just maybe, I can tell my kids that I tried to leave America better off.

I don't think Obama is perfect. There are many things I don't agree on.

Yet, I'm willing to hope for something better. And, for the life of me, I can't believe there are people in this country that admonish others for hoping for a better tomorrow. It amazes me every day when that thought is denounced and laughed at. As a country, when did we start mocking people that hoped for a better life or a brighter tomorrow or any miniscule thought of happiness that might just be around the corner?

I'm sorry, but I refuse to accept the idea that the United States of America can't be better than it was yesterday.

That's why I'm going to vote for Obama.

You are exactly where I was a few months ago when I changed my registration from Independent to Democrat to vote for Obama against Hillary.

A big loss for the Republicans will force them to rethink themselves. The next republican presidential primaries will be fun. You know Palin will be there. She loves herself too much not to run for President. You know that she thinks that McCain is the problem with the Palin/McCain ticket. Now that she's nationally prominent figure she'll get some support too.

SkinnyHead: President Obama will (I pray, secularly) surely understand that traditional left-politics aren't going to get us out of this pit we've dug for ourselves.

So he's going to vote for a leftist socialist and then pray (secularly) that he won't turn out to be leftist socialist. That doesn't make much sense.

You're actually inadvertently proving his point there. Also, if you think any governmental regulation of market forces or economic policy is socialism, then 1) you grossly misunderstand the difference between capitalism and socialism and 2) you're part of the same line of thinking that got us into this mess in the first place.

oh crap the sky is falling again..... i think now, i will have to vote for cynthia mckinney - at least she is an authentic wacko

coco ebert: shivashakti:

What happened to the Right? They seem to have been progressively losing their intellectuals and are appealing straight to the barely-literate rednecks of the world. It's truly frightening.

Start with Nixon to understand what happened to the Republicans.

Also, you said that Obama is further left than Clinton and Carter. I think his personal ideology may be further left but I think temperamentally he's a moderate in that he doesn't favor conflict and prefers harmony. I really think that's one reason he hasn't hit back harder against McCain recently (in addition to not wanting to seem like an "angry, black man" and because you don't have to do much to further sink the McCain campaign). I just don't see him as a fighter. People forget about temperament and often focus on ideology, but that makes a big difference in how they will govern too.

I'll have to disagree with you about Obama being a fighter. I believe he is, but his methods of fighting are different than what the current American populace is used to. I've seen here before, it's McCain's boxing v. Obama's aikijujutsu. Yes, McCain can throw punches, but all Obama's doing is redirecting them and allowing the energy to be used against McCain. It's subtle fighting, something we've not seen in a while.

coco ebert: Start with Nixon to understand what happened to the Republicans.

This. It all started with the "Southern Strategy" and was taken to new heights by Lee Atwater and then Karl Rove. They've become very, very good at using their methods to win elections.

Muta: A big loss for the Republicans will force them to rethink themselves. The next republican presidential primaries will be fun. You know Palin will be there. She loves herself too much not to run for President. You know that she thinks that McCain is the problem with the Palin/McCain ticket. Now that she's nationally prominent figure she'll get some support too.

She'll just be competing with Huckabee for that slice of voters, and further splintering the Republican "coalition".

JohnnyC: of retribution from their friends. My grandparents from Florida are supporting Obama as well, and they're somewhat racist. A friend's parents, who have consistently voted Republican year after year, are voting for Obama. My sister, who voted for Bush twice, is voting for Obama. My best friend, who has never voted before, is voting for Obama... and of list could almost literally go on forever.

You just take words out of my mind. Props. McCain fails because of that. He is not who he said he is. He doesn't have any NEW ideas. He's ancient and out of touch. Had he know how to use Internet, maybe he'll be more understanding of real world. He has 7 houses while we, normal folks, cannot afford even 1. We had a housing bubble. John McCain contributed to the housing bubble by buying more houses than what he actually need.

In year 2000, I actually supported McCain over Gore, but after seeing McCain's true color, I wouldn't do it now nor then.

Muta: A big loss for the Republicans will force them to rethink themselves. The next republican presidential primaries will be fun. You know Palin will be there. She loves herself too much not to run for President. You know that she thinks that McCain is the problem with the Palin/McCain ticket. Now that she's nationally prominent figure she'll get some support too.

She will do worse than Pat Buchanan did in 1988, despite her similar appeal to the same voters. See: Dan Quayle Presidential campaign, 1996.

I think that the loss in 2000 stung so much, that McCain made a deal with the devil in 2008 to help him become President, and he'll do anything and say anything because he wants it so badly.

No mo' White Guilt.

log_jammin: bulldg4life: I wish there was an option to vote for the John McCain from 1999-2000. I would've liked to have seen that man be President. I think he would've done a great job.

i used to think that too. now I think mccain 2008 is just like mccain 2000. he just wasn't desperate in 2000.

Did desperation destroy the character or did desperation reveal the character?

Hopefully, an Obama victory (especially when he gets help from someone like Mr. Buckley) will make the GOP re-think the company they've kept. The party is divided into so many factions at this point; there's the folks who are social conservatives only, the people who are primarily fiscal conservatives, the neocons, and the moderates.

Hopefully, the fiscal conservatives and moderates will kick the neocons and social conservatives the hell out. Their positions have already be seriously weakened by the McCain campaign and exposure of some of the crazier elements.

The way I see it, Obama will propose his programs, then the moderates and fiscals will tear them apart, examine each piece, and put it back together as something better. Meanwhile, the neocons and social conservatives will be WHARRGLBARGLing about irrelivant bullshiat.

Then, when/if things get slightly back on track, the neocons and social conservatives will be shunned for being the obstructionist, out-of-touch, self-absorbed, and power hungry dickheads they are.

This also applies to the crazy-ass partisan left. I would like nothing better than to see Pelosi eaten by her own constituency.

The conservative case for Obama, short version:

1) Pelosi, Rangel et al. drop 15 years' worth of pent-up steaming leftist dreck legislation on Obama's desk for him to rubber stamp.
2) Profit in 2010.

bronyaur1: She will do worse than Pat Buchanan did in 1988, despite her similar appeal to the same voters. See: Dan Quayle Presidential campaign, 1996.

Probably. She won't have the full force of the Republican party behind her to rationalize her idiocy. She'll have to speak to the press and answer questions. A good time will be had by all.