I’ve got mad respect for this guy for spilling his guts about what he’s feeling during this election. I don’t agree with some of his opinions, and I do agree with others. But I have tons of respect for his ability to think out loud on the web, and even more so because it’s on a sports fan forum. That takes balls.
One thing he said piqued my interest, though:
Then again [...] maybe the better pick would be McCain in the hopes that he does die in office so that broad can be promoted. Then she would have to confirm my previous suspicion of being dangerous and start suspending rights, starting wars and generally running amok because her campaign is guided only by “God”, not that silly, old-boy network in Washington they call “Congress”
The problem with this kind of thought is easy to overlook. You can’t just let someone try and fail, not with this particular office…but I don’t say that for the reasons one might think. Once you become POTUS, you are no longer “Sarah Palin” or “George Bush.” We all know (or I hope we all do) that Sarah Palin would be a disaster as President. But what we forget is that the institution of the Presidency of the United States of America is a far more formidable and respected entity than the person who holds the office. There are entire agencies and networks that hold up that institution and try (hard as it can be sometimes) to maintain its strength and legitimacy.
George W. Bush has brought immeasurable harm upon that institution. He is not now, nor has he ever been the caliber of man that the office requires. His current approval ratings are showing that, but the amazing part of the story is how many people were convinced to choose him in the first place. He proved himself an idiot as soon as he took the national stage, yet people bought into his “folksiness.” When my brother and I were watching the first presidential debate in 2000, my brother said to me “that man will start World War III.” And I didn’t doubt for a minute that he would start a war.
My point is, for this sports fan who didn’t ask my opinion, that even though you’re going to vote for Obama, it is still a dangerous thought exercise to imagine giving Palin the opportunity to fall on her face in the job of VP (and, likely, POTUS). Because even though the worst-case scanario could never happen because of those agencies and networks that uphold the institution of the office, it could still be catastrophic in a way that we’ve only just begun to see with the Bush II presidency. We’ve already seen the world laughing at our current President for the rediculousness he brings to the office. Further erosion of respect would be unforgivable, and the blame would fall upon us.