Babeled

During the second day of the Republic National Convention, Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman surprised the audience with a speech that was very telling of the times.

The gist of the speech can be summed up in Lieberman’s own words:

Our founding fathers foresaw the danger of senseless partisanship. George Washington himself, in his Farewell Address to our country, warned that the “spirit of party” is “the worst enemy” of our democracy and “enfeebles” our government’s ability to do its job. George Washington was absolutely right. The sad truth is - today we are living through his worst nightmare, in the capital city that bears his name. And that brings me directly to why I am here tonight. What, after all, is a Democrat like me doing at a Republican convention like this? The answer is simple…country matters more than party.

Country matters more than party. Country first. Change you can believe in. More of the same.

These are all slogans that capture the essence of this unique election. Both citizens and politicians, regardless of party, strongly desire voting to not be split 50/50 as it has been during the last two elections. Nobody wants this election to be decided by a single state like it was in the last two elections.

Don’t let anyone fool you - the greatest danger facing America is not the War on Terror, but rather the ideological infection that has convinced one half of America that they know better, and therefore are inherently better, than their other half. Which half am I speaking of? Both.

And in this election we are being forced to choose between a Republican candidate who preaches unity under the slogan “Country First”, and a Democratic candidate who preaches unity under the slogan “Change You Can Believe In”. The pundits will tell you that the deciding factor must be experience. But if experience is the key factor, and the goal is the highest executive office, then, as has been pointed out by Babeled’s own commentators, the only person on either ticket with relevant executive experience is the Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin.

Obviously, experience will not be the deciding factor.

Rather, the ability to inspire both Republican and Democrat to rally under one candidate will be the deciding factor in this election. If Barack Obama wins the election by one state because the country has voted 50/50 again, you can be sure real change has not occurred. And if McCain wins in the same way, you can be sure that voters did not pick country first.

Nowadays, real change is putting your country first and not voting based on how you identify with a particular party or label. To do otherwise would be to forsake your right to independent choice - and that’s about as Un-American as it gets.