25 October 2006

Rain Check

The rains are coming, which is preferable to snow. They washed out Game Four of the World Series last night, and it was a comfort to not have to stay up to watch. I battened down the windows against the chilly wind and went to bed early, taking a television rain-check on the affair. It will be back tomorrow, same time, just a day later.

I am pretty sure they used to play games during the say. I seem to have a vivid recollection about that, but they say the memory is not the first thing to go, though it is pretty close to the first, which I think I also remember fondly.

That allowed plenty of time for the noise about the election to fill in the void. Some commentators are saying that this marks the end of Conservatism as the dominant ideology, just as Mr. Reagan ended the long sway of Liberalism that held the high ground from the time of the Great Depression.

I am prepared to accept that. The Republicans seem to have run out of good ideas, like fiscal conservatism and strong defense, and were endlessly mining flag protection and gay marriage as issues on which the future of the Republic stood.

I am not aware of any new ideas from the Democrats, except that they helpfully point out that they are not Republicans. I suppose that is uncharitable; Rookie Barak Obama is being talked about as a future President, and former Republicans like Jim Webb threaten to bring some integrity to the Senate.

The weight of the war in Iraq is the problem no one can get around. It is inextricably tied up in terror puzzle, but not the way we thought. Certainly defeat or withdrawal will feed the radicals, and reinforce some very bad thinking, with the North Koreans and Iranians looking on with interest.

The death count for soldiers, sailors and Marines this morning is 96, and I am sure it will break a hundred before the month is done.

It is also breaking the Army, whose leadership went around the Secretary of Defense to appeal for more cash. The Office of Management and Budget nixed an infusion of $18 billion dollars to fix some real and present problems. The shortfall will naturally have to be made up somewhere else, and the Navy and Air Force are looking nervous.

Afghanistan is not getting the attention it requires. The security situation is better in some areas, and much worse in others. The discussion about border security has come down to what sort of fence will be constructed on a limited basis. There is no comprehensive approach on the table.

Oil prices are temporarily down, so we have reverted to our usual disinterest in our national addiction to overseas energy. I thought that the grand coalition of issues might come together to make us think for a moment. Our consumption of oil props feeds the regimes that would destroy us, undermines our economy, and contributes to the changing climate.

Instead, listen to what they are saying about one another in this last paroxysm of advertising.

It appears we are going to hand over the House to the Democrats, and will have the first female Speaker of the House. I think her name is Pelosi. Although it is less likely, we may likewise present the keys to the Senate to Mr. Reid of Nevada.

Karl Rove assures us that superior organization and discipline will save the day for the Republicans, but I think the tide is running against him.

I am sure that we will enjoy the turmoil and the hearings that will come with the change. The unfortunate thing is that they will not be about the future, but the failings of the past.

I wish I could get a rain-check for this, and have all the players go back to their hotels and look at what matters. But that is unlikely, regardless of what comes down from the heavens.

Copyright 2006 Vic Socotra
www.vicosocotra.com

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