The agony of defeat, the pain of coming so far and falling short. The Red Sox had a great year but it was not to be, but it was always within reach, just oh so close.
But the news that you'll read this morning is not of weather or sports teams who in the fleeting moments of the season or game saw their destiny change, it's about the all but decided Presidential election. Colin Powell gave his nod to Barrack Obama, pundits across the nation painted state after state blue and John McCain told supporters he loves being the underdog.
Makes me wonder if Richard Nixon had being the underdog on his mind when he gave his famous "checkers" speech. John McCain is almost right, but he's not the underdog he's more like under the BIG DOG.
There reaches a point where being in denial and standing brave in the face of enemy fire is no longer the sign of a hero or true patriot, it's the sign of utter stupidity. A poorly run campaign since the Republican Convention the McCain Camp has stumbled, again and again while consistently failing to capitalize of Obama's most obvious flaw, his total lack of experience.
The Republican base is just as clueless, rallying around Sarah Palin and attending $5,000.00 a plate diners at Kiawah Island's Sanctuary resort. The wealthy and powerful have forgotten the first rule of the kingdom, that all glory is fleeting.
I really believe that with Barrack Obama in The White House and a Democrat controlled House and Senate we will turn back progress at least forty years, and that doesn't take into account the current economic foolishness.
George W's legacy will not be his response to 911 but the 8 years of missteps and disasters that led to a landslide presidential victory for the dems that swept a dozen Senate and two dozen House Republican seats with it. The Republicans have been out of touch for the last 8 years and they will pay the price.
And as for John McCain, well come election night he'll gather staffers and friends and of course Cindy and daughter Megan, and no doubt Sarah Palin as well and watch what he already knows come to be. And in the presence of these very attractive women he'll find solice in the depths of defeat as he reminds himself "I may not be president but it's good to be king" and then he'll whisper a subtle reminder for Barrack Obama as well....
"Remember that All Glory is Fleeting".
"For over a thousand years Roman conquerors returning from the wars enjoyed the honor of triumph, a tumultuous parade. In the procession came trumpeteers, musicians and strange animals from conquered territories, together with carts laden with treasure and captured armaments. The conquerors rode in a triumphal chariot, the dazed prisoners walking in chains before him. Sometimes his children robed in white stood with him in the chariot or rode the trace horses. A slave stood behind the conqueror holding a golden crown and whispering in his ear a warning: that all glory is fleeting."
Footnote:
Former Secretary of State James Baker was once asked what was the most important thing he had learned while in Washington and he replied that it was the fact that temporal power is fleeting.
Baker went on to observe that once driving through the White House gates he saw a man walking alone on Pennsylvania Avenue and recognized him as having been Secretary of State in a previous administration.
"There he was alone; no reporters, no security, no adoring public, no trappings of power. Just one solitary man alone with his thoughts. And that mental picture continually serves to remind me of the impermanence of power and the impermanence of place."
No comments:
Post a Comment