VIRGINIA 006

You may see me on Colorado ski slopes this coming season, but not in the company of unruly urchins. It came down to a choice between ski instructor and a correspondence course in brain surgery, and I confess to having taken the easy way out.

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I received an e-mail (from Old Europe, no less) with a color photograph of a Colorado lawn sign, in perfect depiction of the ubiquitous GOP campaign poster, but which read:

Geezer
&
Dingbat

I responded that as a proud geezer, I heartily approve, and also noted my delight in the left’s fixation on the Lady Sarah. I have learned from 5+ decades of looking over the political fence, that when the left mocks and ridicules, it is usually in panic mode. Remember how Ronald Reagan was the object of much derision and scorn until the rest of the world anointed him one of the better presidents of the 20th century. I absolutely love the way she gets, as the Brits would say, “up their nose.” But I must hand an accolade to the left, which has successfully portrayed her as grossly unprepared, while their own candidate’s resume is as bare as a snowbound mountain cabin’s larder in February.

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If the outcome next week is accurately reflected in current polls, one of the more odious scenarios I will have to endure going forward will be the genuflective ass-kissing of old Europe by the American intelligencia, desperate to once again garner its approbation and adoration. Actually, I have been amused by European horror at America’s go-it-alone attitude these recent years, as I felt it actually reflected a European, notably French, attitude.

One of my favorite quotes comes from the revered General De Gaulle who returned triumphant to France in August 1944, surrounded, of course, by a protective phalanx of American GI’s, and was later asked about post-war cooperation with the allies. To which he sniffed "France has no friends, it has only interests." This at a time when the graves of thousands of American soldiers interred in eleven military cemeteries in France has not yet had time to sprout grass. Now that, folks, is going-it-alone on steroids.

And it calls to mind the historical footnote that both De Gaulle and Churchill were rejected by their citizenry shortly after the war. It appears convenient to have heroes available in times of strife, so long as they retire quietly to the closet when the battle is won.

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I tuned in last night to “60 Minutes” for my weekly dose of “what’s wrong with America,” and heard Andy Rooney tell me that writers must be egotistical, as they need believe someone out there will be interested in reading what they scribble. An interesting thought that gave me pause, but I think, at least in my case, he missed the mark (again).

Though it may sound mawkish and whiny, I live by the dictum of expecting no accolades for my efforts, literary or otherwise, as none will likely result, and thereby one avoids disappointment through anticipation. And in those rare instances where an affirmative result is achieved, it comes as an unexpected call on a cold rainy night from an long-lost friend. And so, those who receive these words should feel no guilt if they react as the reader who noted “I am in the smallest room in my home with your BLOG before me. Soon it will be behind me.”

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The perfect economic storm may be morphing into the perfect political tsunami. But a word of caution to those with hands on champagne corks. Our political system has always worked best when “checks and balances” is more than an abstract notion in a civics text. Having the White House and both Houses of Congress in the hands of one party – either party – has not historically been in the best interests of the nation.

Nor, in fact, in the best interest of the “ruling” party. Remember how the euphoria of 1992 quickly evaporated and resulted two years later in the first legislative power shift in 40 years. Ditto Bush and Congress from 2000-2006. There is little doubt that a Democrat sweep would result in a hard left turn. And history tells us that such maneuvers usually end in whiplash and rarely result in an improved landscape. Liberals with capital gains should read the fine print of the Obama Economic Plan.

…the adventure continues as the west beckons…