The Green Candidate

Four years ago Charlie Rose interviewed Garrison Keillor, who said something so provocative that for a detectable millisecond Rose was speechless, a rarity. Keillor of course was on promoting A Prairie Home Companion, but early on they discussed the just-ended 2004 election, where the progressive Keillor nailed John Kerry’s defeat and praised George II’s campaign skills.

Keillor then said (about the 6:00 mark) the United States won the War on Terror. Other prominent people who speak like this get blacklisted or at least slowed down, but Keillor has gone from success to success. My transcript leaves out stammers, half-started interjections and false starts.

The War on Terror, I think that was oversold, I think it’s over.”
“Who won?” Rose says.
“Here we are. We’ve survived. Yes, we did. Are you afraid? Are you terrorized? I’m not.”
“I would not be surprised if there was another terrorist attack against the United States,” Rose says. “Or food poisoning or something like that.”
“The point of terrorists is to instill a sense of terror in people, and I don’t sense a sense of terror. I don’t feel afraid getting on a plane. It’s no different for me than it ever was. I don’t worry about food in the grocery, and so long as most people are not then we’ve won the War on Terror.”

Keillor might have been right. The War on Terror always has been more of an attitude than a physical reality. Think of how George Orwell described Oceania’s need for “perpetual war” in his novel 1984:

“It does not matter whether the war is actually happening, and, since, no decisive victory is possible, it does not matter whether the war is going badly. All that is needed is that a state of war should exist.”

Keillor, a professional funny guy after all, may have been kidding with a straight face, but as with the best humorists, his intent does not matter. You think about the words, and a week before Super Tuesday, which includes Arkansas, no candidate has said or will say, “The War on Terror is over. We won. Let’s keep security tight, just in case.”

My favorite newspaper has endorsed former Gov. Mike Huckabee. Its Jan. 20 editorial (no free link) wants him to win the Arkansas primary but the words curiously go no further than that.

Brick this winter endorses no one, because I still don’t know who I’ll vote for in seven days. It’s more than just finding fault with every candidate; that’s always possible. And I want to firmly believe in a candidate.

Sen. John McCain is called a maverick but recall all the photos of him with George II. Former Gov. Mitt Romney truly only acknowledges the religious end of the party. Like Ford, Reagan and George I (and McCain for that matter), he represents the country-club Republicans and promotes his business acumen. Is that enough?

Today former Sen. John Edwards withdrew, but I never saw him as the best candidate, for no reason other than once you’ve been on your party’s slate, you’re done. Sen. Kerry and former Vice President Al Gore know this. I talked to a professional fellow Tuesday who can’t back Sen. Hillary Clinton because though he likes her thinks she would divide the country, yet he worries about Illinois Sen. Barack Obama’s inexperience.

I rather like Clinton’s edge. It’s about time a politician was strong enough to take a stand, back it with knowledge and brilliant advisers, with little kowtowing. It is with reluctance that I admit charm in the public sphere matters a lot in America. Besides, Clinton like her husband in campaigning never is all that clear exactly what she supports. That holds me back, too.

Obama’s supporters point to his charisma and oratory. This is a big country, and if charm doesn’t show up on TV, sorry, it’s insufficient. I’ve watched unedited Obama on C-Span, and he’s as inept as pre-White House Bill Clinton (Bill Clinton became a great speaker only in Washington). Obama is intelligent and he is engaging, and like McCain, Romney and Clinton he certainly is presidential material.

This presidential election most certainly is about color. Barack Obama is green.

It’s not fair to point to Obama’s lack of political experience when so many others have had rather less yet gone on to respectable or great presidencies. Shortly after the swearing in, all modern incoming presidents face a foreign crisis, some country testing our new leader. It happened to Kennedy, and we all recall what happened to George II within nine months. Will Obama, a senator only since 2005, not panic at that time? It’s not fair, but it’s true.

What about Lincoln? Abe served one term in the U.S. House, 1847-49. The Civil War didn’t just happen on Lincoln’s watch, it appeared inevitable long before 1860. Thus, can’t say I’d vote for that tall man from Illinois if he were to show up, now, either. Hillary Clinton also is from Illinois, come to think of it. -30-