I saw this at the BuzzMachine and thought it was a damn good idea, so I’m taking the pledge.

The Post-Election Peace Pledge
After the election results are in, I promise to:
Support the President, even if I didn’t vote for him.
Criticize the President, even if I did vote for him.
Uphold standards of civilized discourse in blogs and in media while pushing both to be better.
Unite as a nation, putting country over party, even as we work together to make America better.

Polls have closed on the East Coast. Hang on, my friends. Here we go…

Jesus, this is brilliant. Check out Osama’s new video at The Poor Man: Osama Special Edition DVD

Brad DeLong is proud to be a Democrat.

Whatever you’re proud to be, please just vote.

Peace.

I’m excited today. I’ve been in a great mood. Tomorrow John Kerry will be elected President of the United States, and today I’m already celebrating.

This morning, with my iPod mainlining party tunes directly into my brain, I filled out my absentee ballot in my jammies, one of the great perks of voting in Washington State. I filled in the bubble for John Kerry & John Edwards and was still grinning as I dropped the ballot in the mailbox this afternoon. I don’t think I’ve been so happy to vote since… ever.

I’m not sure what I want to say here, aside from sharing my thoughts on this night. It’s not an endorsement, per se, and it’s probably too late to really affect anyone’s vote. I just want to try to put my feelings into words for you.

John Kerry will win tomorrow, and it’s likely to be something of a landslide. Bush has woken the sleeping giant. He and his operatives, those cynical manipulators working in secrecy and shadows, have shaken the mass of Americans out of their complacency and reminded them of the words that are etched into the American soul,

...that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,—That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

There is much to believe in about John Kerry, much that he offers us to vote for, but there is no doubt in my mind that this election is—and should be—about ridding ourselves of an incompetent and wrong-headed administration. This election is about reclaiming our American values.

Over the past four years, this government has eroded our good name, our reputation, our treasury, and the very foundations of our society, proving itself to be more dedicated to gaining power than to securing equal rights for all men.

Like a blind rhinoceros on a rampage, this administration has trampled the Geneva Conventions and our own laws and traditions in the zealous pursuit of an unjust war. It has tortured logic and decency in order to justify the unconscionable torture of prisoners. it has denied those in its custody due process, with the effect that innocent people have been held in appalling conditions for years with no recourse.

Like a drunken gambler, this administration squandered both the largest fiscal surplus in decades and the largest outpouring of international good will this country has ever enjoyed. Like a petulant 8-year-old runaway, it has refused to acknowledge that it is dependent on its friends in the international community for its health and security.

While celebrating the accomplishments of its hero, Ronald Reagan, this administration has worked to undermine the benefits of what they consider his singular accomplishment: the fall of communism. This administration has instituted draconian, fascist policies unbecoming of a nation that threw a generation of soldiers into the cause of stopping the advance of fascism in Europe.

This administration has preferred to conduct its business in secret. It has refused to acknowledge or admit mistakes, even in the face of evidence. It has quashed dissent and sought to discredit and destroy its dissenters. It has endangered the lives of its own agents and the security of the United States by revealing the name of a CIA agent to the press.

John Kerry will be elected tomorrow by a clear and unmistakable majority of American voters, and our message to the world will be clear: We reaffirm the values that have made this country great; we reject the politics of divisiveness and manipulation.

Electing Kerry will not show weakness to our enemies. This administration claims to be strong on defense, but it was weak at precisely the time we needed it to be strong. Though the system was “blinking red,” this administration was asleep at the switch when the terrible attack occurred on 9/11. Even this might be a forgivable mistake, but this administration compounded its error by allowing the masterminds of that criminal act to escape when it could have captured them. It stonewalled the commission charged with investigating the causes behind the tragedy. Thinking that our enemy was attacking us because of our freedoms, this administration rushed to suppress those freedoms, and to destroy this country’s reputation for decency, humanity, and compassion. We cannot allow this to continue. We will not allow this to continue.

I believe that John Kerry will be a good president, and more than that I know that he is our only hope for bringing sweeping changes to the executive branch. I believe he will bring decent, caring people back into government. I believe he will put all available resources into solving the challenges that face us in the years ahead. He won’t be perfect, nor are any of us, but I believe his heart is in the right place and his head is in the game. I believe that Kerry is more likely than Bush to secure the blessings of liberty for all of us and forever.

Kerry will win, and America’s soul will be restored. There is no place in my world for the alternative.

Via Atrios,

Great video. Great message. This guy is talking like a winner. Click on the image to watch.

I drafted a post a while ago on this topic, but I’ve never quite finished it. I think the impulse behind it is good, so I submit the idea for your consideration:

Bush has been fond of talking about the “soft bigotry of low expectations.” (You know, in a bad way; he’s against it.) But of course, he takes every opportunity to shed criticism or be held to any standard of accountability.

It’s too late now, alas, but at some point during the debates I wish John Kerry had kind of explicitly called Bush out on this. Like, “I know that you were handed a recession and then 9/11 happened so you lost a million jobs on your watch, but I expect my Presidents to overcome such difficulties and implement effective plans to meet these unexpected challenges. To accept that you shouldn’t have handled the economy any differently would be to engage in the soft bigotry of low expectations.”

Or, “You told us that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, which there weren’t. You told us that Osama bin Ladena and Sadaam Hussein were in cahoots; they weren’t. You told us that this war would cost $30 billion; it is projected to cost upwards of $200 billion. You told us that Osama bin Laden can run but he can’t hide, yet he is still on the loose. To accept that we shouldn’t have to trust the word of our President would be to engage in the soft bigotry of low expectations.”

You get the idea. I wish Kerry had used that line. I wish he’d reminded us more explicitly that we hold our Presidents to a higher standard. That’s all.

Andrew Cline at Rhetorica writes:

Last week I began to notice the assertion “everything changed on 9/11”—especially as preceded by the ad populum fallacy “everyone knows.” I say “began to notice” because up until last week I have not encountered many situations in which someone actually spoke this assertion to me. I was certainly aware of it otherwise.


I noticed it because in each case my interlocutor wished to frame his/her remarks in a new reality that supposedly proved his/her conclusions, e.g. “Everyone knows that everything changed on 9/11, so we had to invade Iraq to fight terrorism.”

This has been much on my mind lately, too. As Nels wrote in the comments to Dr. Cline’s post, 9/11 gave us a glimpse of our vulnerability in one sudden, shocking, collective experience. The events of that day shifted our understanding of the world in certain fundamental ways, but 9/11 most certainly did not “change everything.”

Here are a few things 9/11 didn’t change, just off the top of my head: it didn’t change our Constitution, our laws, our history, or our traditions. It didn’t change our need for access to healthcare, good jobs, and a strong economy. It didn’t change the meaning of fairness, honesty, or truth. It didn’t change our essential impulse to be good to each other. It didn’t change our need to educate our children, nor did it diminish in any way the importance of a free press. 9/11 didn’t make us any less obsessed with pop culture or with shopping or gossip. 9/11 didn’t make us any less dependent on foreign oil. Our freedom to travel has been subject to small inconveniences, but not curtailed in the least. 9/11 didn’t even change the fundamental safety record of airlines, for crying out loud; flying is still the safest way to travel.

(My wife makes a good point here: It is in times of greatest danger when our essential values are most called upon. We are not a free society only when it’s easy. Our freedoms and our “American character” are supposed to be what carry us through when the going gets rough.)

9/11 didn’t change everything, but our response to 9/11 changed a lot. We are less safe, less respected, less liked, and less powerful. I, for one, am tired of hearing people repeat this worn phrase as prelude to shirking their responsibility or abusing their power. 9/11 did not change the essential character of American society or make us any less a democratic republic. If any of that happens, we will have done it to ourselves.

Who understands the world today like no one else? Why, The Medium Lobster, that’s who…

As you all know, we were entrusted three years ago by George W. Bush with rings of mystical power, which would harness the awesome energies of Free Emotions such as Hope, Dignity, and Resolve into potent forces to use to break up terrorist cells, secure and stabilize Iraq, and spread democracy throughout the world. And we have indeed been successful. Who could forget when Captain Fortitude destroyed an entire al Qaeda training camp with one blast of his Determination-Vision, or when Freedom Woman used her enhanced Optimism Senses to uncover the location of terrorist cell in Pakistan?

However, the Medium Lobster has not come to celebrate old victories. Indeed, we face a grave danger in Iraq – one that can no longer be ignored. As violence in the country has increased dramatically, we must act, while there is still time, to bolster the spirits of the American public. For the project of Freedom in Iraq is endangered not by armed guerillas and terrorists, but by the deadly force of Pessimism.

For just as Hope, Dignity, and Resolve are focused through our mystical power rings to become intense and powerful beams of super-force, so is Pessimism channeled by the dark and powerful mystics of our foes into terrifying powers.

Indeed, it was only last week that the evil Doctor Jihad used his Crystal Orb of Negativity to summon massive car bombings throughout the country. And it was only within the last few days that the maniacal Islamobot used its deadly Press Accounts Of American Casualties Ray to decapitate more American hostages.

Iraqis recognize the danger, and they are refuting Pessimism. For they know that negative attitudes, and not a massive, violent nationalist and religious insurgency, are the true threats to freedom and democracy within this new and independent state.

I noticed that I had been pinged – a very rare occurrence for this blog – so I read through this post at Right On Red. Johnny Walker Red makes a good point: few of the bloggers I read, which are mostly lefties, had anything at all to say on the subject of the Beslan massacre. The only time the subject showed up on this blog was when I noted the harsh rhetoric coming out of that country in response. In retrospect, this was an appallingly callow reaction to the event itself, and I regret not having given more thought or attention to this horrific attack.

At the risk of appearing defensive, let me try to sort out a couple of reasons why my own response was so muted, as I’ve been pondering lately my reading and writing habits, and my responsibility to this blog.

First, I don’t consider myself a news source of any kind, so I don’t tend to link to news stories that are widely reported, or for which I don’t have a special feeling or an individual “take.” The massacre in Beslan was a major news story, has been widely reported and written about, and there’s only one possible reaction to it: outrage, mixed with immense sadness and sympathy for the families and friends of the victims.

Secondly, I don’t tend to pay attention to stories of foreign terrorism. I don’t say this as a defense; just the opposite, I think this is a problem. Stories of bombings in other countries have become commonplace enough that on some level I’ve tuned them out. A car bomb in the Middle East or Africa or Australia, or anywhere besides the US and it’s a quick prayer for the victims and I shake my head and wonder how anger can become so entrenched and intractable and I’m on to the next news story. Sometimes I don’t even give it that much time. I think I’ve become so dulled to reports of foreign terrorism that I didn’t pay attention to the incident in Beslan. In my knee-jerk, reptilian-brain first response, I lumped it in with “another international terrorist incident” and glossed over the details. I’m not in any way proud of this.

Thirdly, I think I’ve placed myself in an echo chamber of sorts. I pay far more attention to bloggers whose views I agree with than those I don’t. I pass on… and I’m not even sure why I do this, to be honest… links, quotes, and thoughts that reinforce my point of view rather than really chew on something and consider it. If Beslan wasn’t showing up in Left Blogistan, it wasn’t showing up in this blog. That’s a weakness. That’s a problem.

Look, I don’t know if I’m going to change what I do. I don’t expect to become an Atrios or a Brad DeLong or a Glenn Reynolds. Mostly I’m doing this for myself, not because I expect to become an invaluable font of punditry and outrage. This blog tracks the stuff that passes through my sphere of attention. However, I am part of the blogosphere, and as Johnny Walker Red suggests, perhaps my side of it isn’t always paying attention when it should. I’ve added Right On Red to my RSS reader, and I’ll keep working to expand the scope of what I read.

In the meantime, I urge the three readers who visit this blog regularly to head over to Johnny’s post on this subject so that you can visit the blogs he mentions for details about the Russian School Tragedy. The Russians need our prayers now, and the victims deserve our attention and respect.

My lovely wife points me to an article by Tim Hutten of the LA Times. She says:

“This writer eloquently captures many of my thoughts about politicians and pundits of late. Thought it may have a place somewhere in your blog.”

You got it, babe. Hutten writes of the polarizing polemics which are gaining ground today at the expense of persuasive arguments. It’s a good article and very… persuasive. Read the whole thing at the Seattle Times’ site.