Even before the election was over people were accusing me of being in denial.
For whatever reason, they wanted me to recognize the reality of the situation.
Friends urged me to "get real" and prepare myself so that I'd be OK "after the fall."
Those on the other side wanted me to acknowledge the rightness of their cause and the inevitability of their victory. In their bravado, they craved affirmation (and they still do). But I took it as an attempt to disarm me and quickly brushed it aside.
What they didn't know was I never needed a wake up call because I wasn't in denial.
I knew the odds were long. I knew the road would be difficult. Hey, I supported McGovern in 1972. I know what it's like to be up against long odds. And I lived through that. I survived.
I recognized that after the stock market collapsed and economic chaos took over it would be hard for the GOP to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
I wasn't in denial.
But I simply decided to find bright patches of optimism and cause for (dare I say it) hope where I could. I found bits of sunlight in every cloud on the horizon. I needed to do that (all of of us on this side needed to do it) to get from there to here. We needed to do this for ourselves - and for our country.
And we needed to do it to stay in the fight. We weren't about to give the others any more cause for celebration than they already had.
When it comes to fighting against long odds, this is the only way I know.
And I have no respect for those who threw in the towel before the battle was over or who (worse yet) defected. Those cowards (and the ton of them shall remain nameless) know who they are. And they will have to live with themselves.
I'm a big boy. I've been through this before. I can live with it.
I sailed proudly with a gutsy, courageous, salty old sailor. We weren't always a perfect match and he sure as hell wasn't my first choice. But it was still a helluva ride.
So, no regrets. No recriminations. No apologies.
Now, let's begin the new day.
Avanti!
17 comments:
Those cowards (and the ton of them shall remain nameless)
Colin Powell? Michael Smerconish? Ken Adelman?
Who else, Dan? Why leave them nameless? Isn't it . . . cowardly not to name names?
If you want to name them, be my guest.
But so long as you and others reserve the right not to identify yourselves here and elsewhere, I reserve the right not to name the traitors.
As far as I'm concerned, they've achieved their moment of fame.
They've been mentioned enough (which is what they crave).
Now, we move onward.
BTW: Congratulations and best wishes.
Dan, I thought you did a terrific job supporting your guy, which is what PR pros do, which is exactly what you said you did: Find glimmers of hope and use them. Never agreed with you, often found your angle frustrating, but continue to respect your talent to find angles and frustrate the other side. See you around.
Dave W.
Dave, you just made my day!
Thanks so much. Keep in touch.
Traitors is a very, very strong word to use without naming names.
Traitor: One who betrays one's country, a cause, or a trust, especially one who commits treason.
It may be strong, but it certainly seems to fit in regards to the people you've mentioned above.
To call it strong is also nothing more than your opinion.
It's over. Let's end it and move on with our lives... Move On... that's funny, where do they go from here???
SS, did you just call Colin Powell a traitor? You are a jackass.
As for the rest of you, look forward. It's over. Finished. We have so much work to do.
I woke up late today, and I walked out onto my balcony, and shook hands with the guy next door, who was a rabid McCain fan. Needless to say, we've had dissagreements; but today we both breathed in some fresh autumn air, and we looked over the neighborhood we live in.
For me, a long journey is over, but another one has begun. Dan, I'll echo those you know and tell you that you and the rest of the McCain supporters fought to the end. I didn't expect less. And I know that security is on your mind; security for the little ones you love. Now, I may have some koolaid stains on my shirt, but I'm not delusional. No seas parted today. Although the world seems to be cheering. Lets use this moment to raise America, our defenses, and our voices.
Inainte! (which is Romanian for Avanti)
Thanks, Draco.
One if the great pluses of this campaign was that you and I became friends - and we shall remain so because we share a love for our country and concern for others.
Colin Powell = A Traitor to the Republican Party.
See Draco, a traitor doesn't necessarily signify someone who betrayed his or her country. I fully respect Colin Powell and his service to our country. If you would have read the definition in my previous post you would have seen someone could be considered a traitor by abandoning a cause. That is what Colin Powell did.
Now you know what I called him. It may have been hard to figure out earlier and for that I apologize.
Now to the name calling...
A Democrat calling me a Jackass? That's insulting. I voted Republican. Now, however, I am an asshole, so you were close. Maybe watch your words next time, pick a better one, and you can nail that shot a little better. It was good try though. Ha, call me a Jackass. Only a Jackass would vote Obama in...
Finally, you probably got too caught up with your typical whiney liberal attitude to realize the last paragraph of my previous post. So I’ll include it here:
"It's over. Let's end it and move on with our lives... Move On... that's funny, where do they go from here???"
Aside from the unneccessary shot at MoveOn I was trying to end it. So enough. MoveOn you Jackass.
Touchy. As for your definiton of traitor: you are 100% correct. Except that by defining Colin Powell in terms of a "Republican cause", you've proved that I'm on the mark with my assesment of your personality.
To really MoveOn (good one), you need to wrap your mind around one idea: both libs and conservatives are bound by one cause, and that is the advancement of this country. To automatically say that Powell abandoned a GOP cause, and not to defer to the simple notion that he was doing what he thought was right for his country, is small-minded. If you want to MoveOn, stop implying that your cause demands complete obedience. And as for my whiny liberal attitude: when you call a fellow soldier a traitor, in whatever context, I'll call you on it (I did it with Gen Petraeus) , because until you post a picture of your dogtags, you don't get that automatic privilage. You want it? Join a service.
Confidential to Draco and SS:
Each one of you must stop this nonesense of trying to have the last word and/or attempting to top the other one.
You each have a good head on your shoulders. You each hold heartfelt views. And, you are both good guys.
It's just that you have diffrent life experiences. You're coming at it from different angles.
That doesn't make either one better -- just different.
And that's OK. In fact, it's preferred.
So, be yourselves, respect each other's differences and play nice.
I have no dog tags, and if you do, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. That's honest. We can disagree on numerous issues and topics but nevertheless I respect you and everyone else for that.
In fact after writing my previous post I thought about a good angle that you could have came back with. He could have been looked upon as a traitor to his race for not voting for Obama. Don't take this the wrong way, I mean nothing derogatory by it at all. But after everything the AA race has been through at the hands of your typical WASP politician, I would have hated to been in Powell's position. I think it was about more than just politics, and in his position I probably would have gone the same way.
He made a choice, I didn't like it (obviously) but I can respect it.
Thank you for the compliment on the MoveOn comment, and on the basis of civility, lol which I agree is necessary, here's a question for you.
Piggybacking off of what will happen to MoveOn, What do you think is going to happen, or better yet, what direction does Colbert and Stewart go from here?
Any thoughts, I enjoy the show and I hope it doesn't begin to lack material.
Also, a good debate is always a good thing. No harm no foul, in your words, "both libs and conservatives are bound by one cause, and that is the advancement of this country." I couldn't agree more. Talk to you soon.
Also, Congratulations.
Danny-Boy,
I just wanted to let you know that you were not alone in hearing the comments from friends, neighbors and relatives that the race was lost months ago. But I shared your opinion all the way. The battle for the White House was a well-fought and courageous fight, and, I do believe that, had it not been for the current melt down of the stock market, Senator McCain would have won the election. My glimmer of hope was that the stock market would turn around and make economics a “non-issue.” The Democratic strategy to link Senator McCain to “Bush economics” had an enormous impact on the voters in the swing states and is probably the real reason Senator Obama won. As a friend of yours for nearly fifty years – and one who has agreed with you, and disagreed with you, over those many years – I now stand firmly with you and share your opinions in this article. I think, as you said, the campaign was “a helluva ride,” but am glad it’s over, and also feel it’s time to “begin the new day.”
Ronnie B – WWHS class of 64
Ron:
You are a treasured friend and your thoughts are beautifully expressed.
You are that rare person, Ron: A fine wordsmith who is also a mathematician and an engineer. You've got both sides of the brain working and a great, generous heart as well.
Just so everyone will know -- you and I never discussed the campaign or our preferences prior to this. In fact, we haven't communicated in far, far too long.
Which only makes it all the more heartening to know that you were reading these posts and you agreed with me all along.
Not to be redundant but all I can say is "Bravo!"
Yours,
Dan
SS, thank you for your comments. I'm sure we'll run into eachother's opinions again, and I equally hope that we can discuss them as we've done here, in a friendly and understanding manner.
As for the shows, they were on tonight, and they we're hillarious. I still think that they'll concentrate more on the GOP than the White House, until Obama starts making some mistakes. There's an old article in Rolling Stone where they both answered your question.
See you around.
Draco,
I checked out that article. Thanks for the direction. I also watched the other night, not too bad. "You will get a dog when I become president of the United States!" haha and Chris Wallace was great.
Cognitive arguments of opinion will continue. No emotions involved.
Talk to you soon
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