It is extremely important in any contest to be a gracious winner. How you act in victory speaks volumes about your integrity and personality. It's equally important, no matter how difficult, to be a "good loser" when things don't go your way. Accepting defeat graciously and complimenting the victor is a sign of a civilized person, and demonstrates respect for the greater system, no matter what type of contest you are talking about.
How will our two presidential election warriors handle themselves in victory and defeat? I believe that their initial and long term reactions will speak volumes as to their legitimacy and qualifications as leader of this land for the next four years.
Many younger readers might not even remember this, but there was a long period of time when elections were decisive, and sometime between 10 pm and 2 am there was a clear winner. The loser would call the winner and congratulate him, and later the two would even meet and shake hands. The loser was gracious, and hoped that the winner would listen to the voices of his supporters.
The election of 2000, I believe, has endangered, if not completely ruined, that fine tradition. There is a perception, (and I freely admit that I suffer from it) that Bush stole that election with all the court nonsense in Florida, coupled with his failure to win the popular vote. He entered the office without the clear mandate from the people which all but one of his predecessors had carried.
This election is far too close. My greatest fear is that we will see a 269-269 tie in the electoral college and the House will hand the office to Bush again. While I pray that Kerry will win tomorrow, I would rather see him lose decisively than have that happen. No matter who wins, I am hoping that it will be by an electoral college margin of 30 or more. I don't want to see a situation where a recount in one close state could overturn the results. 30 points would be a landslide in the current political climate.
How will the victor and the loser react? Will the loser call the winner and congratulate him? Or will we head back to the endless recount process and let the Supreme court decide our winner. If Kerry wins by any margin and George W. Bush accepts that result, congratulates him and moves on, I will gain a huge amount of respect for the man which has been lacking thus far. If Kerry loses and takes it to the courts, I will like him even less than I do now and fight harder than ever to get a good, moderate Republican candidate in 2008 to unseat him for just that reason.
I'm only one voter with one voice. All I want tomorrow night is a return to civility and a clear victor. Our country is bitterly divided in a most uncivil war right now, and a clean, decisive election could go a long way toward repairing this damage.
Thank you for this Jazz. I think it's what most of us hope for but I must admit I'm pessimistic. If Kerry wins, and I think he will, the theocons will be in the attack mode from the get go. We will see a president that is crippled much as Bill Clinton was. The frightening thing is religion is involved which makes debate impossible.
ReplyDelete