If Barack Obama wins tomorrow, as I hope he will, we will see the inevitable flood of soul-searching, Monday (in this case Wednesday) morning quarterbacking, recriminations, and what I call the “what if” and “if only” questions and assertions. (And, oh yes, the long Republican knives will come out, too.)
So let me go out on a (pretty solid) limb and anticipate not only tomorrow’s election results, but also the questions that will dominate Wednesday morning, “What went wrong?” and “What if McCain had done things differently, would he be our next President?”
(I have no doubt that, should McCain win, similar questions and long knives would appear on the Democrats’ side, but I‘ll leave that to the many others who would come forward.)
These are some of the “what ifs” that come to mind:
What if McCain had not blatantly and persistently told—let me be generous—“little white lies,” such as the ones about the e-Bay airplane sale, about the bridge to nowhere, and about the $3 million “slide projector”?
What if McCain had not shamelessly and doggedly misrepresented, distorted and juggled the facts on big issues such as taxes, health care and health insurance and, yes, on his opponent‘s voting record and character?
What if McCain had spent more time on vetting, and had used better judgment in selecting a running mate–one with real experience (especially the “foreign” policy kind), real qualifications, real substance, and real use—not misuse–of power?
What if McCain had not savaged Obama’s so-called celebrity status (and bemoaned the plight of the “average Joe”), only to turn Sarah Palin into a celebrity star herself—albeit the falling kind—in $150,000 fancy clothes, fancy hair, fancy make-up, and fancy jewelry…the envy of every Hollywood celebrity?
What if McCain had displayed a better grasp of economic issues and more concern for our deteriorating economy, rather than repeatedly announcing his lack of knowledge and experience on such matters and, finally, as our economy was crashing all around us, pronouncing that “the fundamentals of our economy are strong.”?
What if he had used less theatrics, been less “impulsive, impetuous and impatient,” and displayed more substance and sincerity during critical moments in his campaign–and in America‘s fortunes—such as when he decided to “suspend” his campaign and threatened to postpone a presidential debate to ostensibly “save“ our crashing economy?
What if McCain had shown more respect toward his opponent during the early debates, and, at the very minimum, had the common courtesy to at least once look his Senate colleague in the eye during one debate, and the basic decorum not to sneer, grimace and roll his eyes in another debate?
What if McCain had not encouraged, permitted or condoned his running mate, his campaign, and his surrogates to play from the bottom of a deck replete with fear and smear cards; to besmirch and cast his opponent—the man who the American people are likely to elect as their next president—as some unsavory, sinister character who “pals around with terrorists;” as a socialist, a communist, and anti-Israel; as unpatriotic, un-American, a Muslim, and a man with a false birth certificate; as “that one” with the funny name, who is “too radical,” and “too risky”?
What if McCain had not created a climate where his surrogates could, with impunity, flood our homes with robo-calls, vicious e-mails, and TV ads—many continuing into election eve—telling us that Barack Obama is a terrorist and associates with terrorists? (Most recently, in Pennsylvania, an e-mail drive attempting to equate a vote for Barack Obama with the “tragic mistake” of Jews who ignored the warning signs of the Holocaust.)
What if McCain had constructively talked about how he would fix a tanking economy; about how he would help the millions of hard working Americans who are losing their homes and jobs; about how he would improve health care, social security, education, job creation, our crumbling infrastructure, our environmental and energy crises, instead of using these issues as tools to demean and diminish his opponent–instead of using the politics of fear and division?
What if McCain and his surrogates had listened to more sensible and reasonable voices than those of the Limbaughs, the Hannitys, the Coulters and the Malkins; had paid attention to more reputable books than Jerome Corsi‘s latest master piece, “The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality” ?
What if McCain had used less ideology and more ideas and idealism, less trivia and sleaze pursuit (Obama doesn’t wear an American flag lapel pin! Obama lived in William Ayers’ neighborhood when Obama was 8 years old!) and focused more on the issues Americans care and worry about?
What if McCain and his running mate had not incited their adoring, wildly cheering crowds to the point of shouting “terrorist,” and “kill him?
What if McCain had not let his Straight Talk Express metamorphose into the Swift Boaters’ Express ?
What if McCain had been the John McCain I knew in 2004—the McCain I could have voted for, had he then received the Republican nomination?
If only McCain had kept his promise to run an honorable, “clean and respectable campaign.”
If only John McCain had listened to the words of his mentor, Ronald Reagan:
“Whatever else history may say about me when I am gone, I hope it will record that I appealed to the best hopes , not your worst fears.”
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.